Trial 2: Preparations Complete

At six in the morning, a phone alarm wakes us in our sleep. We greeted each other a 'good morning' and began preparing for the day. An hour and a half later, we left for work.

Upon arrival, we grouped with our teammates and wasted no time in continuing where we left off the day before. I make sure that our team works with precision, maximizing the time allotted to us. This cycle repeats for a week until the day before the event arrives, in which our productivity resulted in finishing everything before our lunch break.

I decided to spend lunch together with my team.

Meanwhile, in the middle of our lunch, the head of the event committee comes to us and says, "I saw the function hall just now and I must say; good job everyone. It has been all tough work and tight deadlines these months, yet you all delivered, so as an appreciation, you're all dismissed for the day. Worry not; this will not reflect on your payroll."

We all expressed our thanks to the head of the event committee.

Just when we thought that the head of the event committee is leaving; however, the committee head added, "Also, I heard about what happened to Miss Chesney's place. I'm sorry for your loss, Miss Chesney. If there's anything we can assist you with, please let us know."

To which I replied, "Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate that. "

The committee head left with remarks, "Alright, enjoy the rest of the day and relax all you like. Just make sure to come tomorrow and oversee the entire event."

All of us replied in unison, "Yes ma'am."

"So, mates, how about we have a barbecue party at my place and a Netflix marathon?" suggested Liza.

"That sounds great;" commented Christie.

"Yeah," agreed Giselle and Bianca.

"Let's go then," said Liza

"Guys, I'd love to join you but I have to go to the construction firm's office to check with them the total estimated cost for my house's reconstruction," I reasoned.

"Then, we'll tag along!" responded the rest in chorus

I understand your willingness to assist me in any way possible, given the situation I am in right now, and I am grateful, but I am fine, I assure you," I articulated.

"That's such a waste," reacted Giselle.

"Yeah," said the rest.

"Mates, I'm sorry that I can't go with you for now. I just need to sort things out at the moment;" came my apologetic reply.

"Can we not help you sort things out?" insisted everyone

"Look, I'm aware of how you all genuinely want to share the burden I carry from the loss; even so, I don't want that. I mean, I'm sure you all have your share of worries in life and I don't want to add up to that," I elucidated.

Everyone answered back with an "I see."

"I'll see you all again tomorrow. And Bianca, I will drop by your place tomorrow, after work, to take my things with me for after my appointment with the Construction firm, I will look for a temporary place to live. Again, thank you very much for letting me stay at your place until now," I told Bianca in particular.

Bianca replied, "Okay, I understand and you're welcome."

I wished them a good time, then parted from them.

At the Construction Firm's Office:

"Good day, ma'am," greeted the project management consultant (PMC) on duty.

"Good day, sir," I greeted back.

"How can I assist you today?" asked the PMC.

I began, "You see sir, my house was ravaged by the fire last week; thus, it needs reconstruction. I am here to inquire about the estimated total cost for it."

"I see, ma'am. Well first off, I'm sorry for your loss. As for your concern, pricing depends on the materials and the location. Also, you will need to hire a residential architect since this will be like a custom home type of construction, but if you're hesitant to hire one, we can prepare a design for you, and the typical cost ranges from $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot." explained the officer.

I state a matter of factly, "Um, Actually, I have here the soft copy of its design."

"Oh! I see, ma'am. If that's the case, then the estimation of the cost will be simpler. By the way, our price ranges from $100 to $400 per square foot. Let me see first the design," requested the PMC on duty.

"Alright, here you go," I said as I handed over the disc drive.

"Wow! This is quite an intelligent design, ma'am," complimented the PMC on duty.

"Thank you, sir," was my reply.

"Alright, as stated in the design, the house's lot area is 1, 899 square feet and with its location, the cost will be $153 per square foot. So that's $153 times 1, 899. So, that will be $290, 547. As for the duration, it's going to take around seven months, ma'am," explained the PMC on duty.

"I see. What about the terms of payment?" came my response.

"You can either pay it in cash or installment, ma'am. For installment, you need to pay first the 25% down payment, the rest is payable up to 10 years. As you may be aware though, the longer the installment plan you choose, the higher the interest. For cash payment, no interest rate applies. Also, we have a promotion that runs for this month where we give a 5% discount to all those who pay in cash. So, should you decided to pay in cash you will only pay $276, 019.65 instead of $290, 547. Which would you prefer, ma'am?"

I pondered for a moment before replying, "As much as I want to keep my savings untouched, I wouldn't want to get additional charges for choosing installment so, I choose cash payment."

"Alright ma'am, please wait here while I have the contract prepared," said the PMC.

I said "okay."

About a quarter later, the PMC on duty came back.

"So here it is ma'am, take your time to read through the contract before signing it. I prepared two copies of the contract that you need to sign three times per page. There are two copies; one for us, the other one for you, ma'am."

I took the contract and carefully read each page. A minute shy of half an hour, I signed the 2 copies of the contract as instructed.

"Thank you very much, ma'am. You have twenty-five days to complete the payment. Payment can be through fund transfer or you can directly deposit your payment to our bank account. Here is our bank account number."

I then left the office after taking my copy of the contract as well as the construction firm's bank account number and thanking the PMC on duty.

Following my appointment at the Construction firm, I paid for the construction contract thru bank transfer. Afterward, I start looking for a more affordable room for rent offer.

After almost an hour of walking, I finally found one, albeit, from my estimation, walking to and back home from work will take a bit longer than before.

As I arrived at the place, I immediately inquired about the rental terms. My inquiries were answered kindly. More importantly, the terms sounded friendly towards my wallet, so without a second thought, I gave it a go and paid for the rent.

Finally finding a temporary place to live in, I decide to shop for some food and some clothes I will need for the night and the next morning.

Just in time for dinner, I finished shopping and went back to my new but temporary home. Inside my small room, I prepared dinner, and once done, I ate it. After dinner, I fixed my things. When I'm done, I start thinking about my finances.

"So, I have a total of $280, 695 in my savings account. Thanks to my part-time work back in college and my current job that I was able to save that much. Papa's funds helped too. It sucks to have that taken away from me in no time. Going back, after paying for the reconstruction contract, I only have $4, 675.35. If not for that 5% discount from the firm, my money wouldn't even be enough to cover the construction cost. I am glad I still have some cash on hand left to pay for this rent and cover my subsistence. I'm glad that the payout time is closer. Still, that's a lot of money to lose in such a very short time as this. I wonder how I can quickly recover the money I used for the house reconstruction."

Suddenly, an idea pops in my head, "Ah, I know. I'll work part-time as I did back in college. It will be rougher compared to before since I had more time then than now. I better start looking for a part-time job."

With that, I actively sought part-time jobs until I fell asleep.

Morning came and I proceeded with my usual morning routine.

I arrived an hour earlier than the actual start of the event to double-check with my team if there's still lacking.

Luckily, all was set and the event smoothly took place. The guests seemed to have enjoyed the entire event.

When it was all over, the entire event committee holds a meeting regarding the event that just took place and the future events that we will be holding.

The head of the event committee starts, "The client liked the flow of the event; he said it was unlike any other anniversary event they had. As for our future events to hold, we have seven more. But relax; they're nothing major compared to earlier as they're all simple lunch buffet celebrations. Furthermore, the clients for those 7 events already picked a menu and a room setup that fits in our quotations. I decided to only accept those because 2 weeks from now will be our anniversary party. For our anniversary, it was already agreed that the same setup and theme will be used. The only change will be the menu. As part of the tradition, each department will offer a short performance. For this year, I'm choosing Miss Chesney to perform on behalf of the event committee. As usual, there's an incentive for that. Miss Chesney, I hope that's okay with you."

"I'm honored to be chosen as our representative, ma'am," is what I replied.

"I'm glad. So I think everything's clear," said the event committee's head.

Everybody responded with a "Yes."

"Alright, the meeting is adjourned," concluded the event committee's head.

Just like that, everyone left the room and went home.

I joined Bianca as I'm supposed to drop by her place to take back my things.

Arriving at Bianca's place, I gathered all my things and thanked Bianca once again.

As I'm leaving, Bianca called me out and asked, "Alaine, are you sure you don't want to stay here until your house finishes its reconstruction?"

"Bianca, it's not like I don't like to stay here; I just don't want to be like a freeloader."

"But Alaine, you're not a freeloader; you're an important friend."

"Okay, I get that, but you know yesterday, I already paid for my rent. Though the apartment is not so spacious, I am fine with it. I am truly thankful for your concerns about me, but I don't want to owe you any more favor."

Bianca finally gave up and said, "all right I understand, but if you ever feel like staying here for a night or any day, please feel free to let me know and I'll gladly let you in."

"Roger that. Thanks again and goodbye."

"You're welcome, Alaine, and take care."

"Thanks. You too, take care."

I took a cab back to my new apartment. Once I'm inside, I reorganized my things. Afterward, I had dinner. Before going to bed, I resume my part-time job search. About an hour later, I finally found a part-time job post that suits my preference. I immediately contacted the employer and sent my curriculum vitae. Finishing such, I happily put myself to sleep.