I never thought this is challenging.

If there's one statement that haunts me in the instructions given by Nestle in preparation for the Management Immersion for Leadership Excellence (MILE) of which I'm lucky enough to be one of the 48 students in the Philippines who were chosen, it would be:

Exercise good judgment in dressing up as you will be meeting up top executives of the company.

Since I am not well off, my clothes literally fall under the category "yagit." Which in English translates to "horrendous". Kidding. What I mean is, untidy-- the common stereotype for engineering students, reaching as far as claiming that we, inhabitants of the engineering building, never wash our jeans for a month. But that's a BIG myth. We do wash our jeans after 29 days of everyday use. 

This could only mean one thing-- use every ounce of resourcefulness to obtain the "good judgment in dressing up." For four days I need 4 casual attires, a strictly formal one and 2 sets of workout apparel. (Never mind the clothing for sleep time. I remember Marilyn Monroe, when asked what she wore in bed, she replied: "Perfume.") That's when I remembered my friends.(Ha ha, play That's what friends are for here) True enough, I was able to confirm that a friend in need is a friend indeed. One casual attire, check. Formal attire, check. (Although I borrowed it to broaden options.) The rest now depends on my uncle's "baul" and my limited funds. My already vanishing bills brought me to the department store, where I spent a jillion years trudging to and fro a fitting room. I just can't find good clothes to fit my build. I'm very skinny (I think I have a reason to be with the No.1 Health and Nutrition Company in the World) and formal clothes are literally too big (and too expensive) for me. After suffering from instantaneous alopecia from scratching my head in indecisiveness, I finally settled for 2 polo shirts, a really big (my aunt says it's psychological) long sleeve, 2 slacks and a tie. (Of all of the items, I was most amused with the tie. It just fits. Ugh!)

 I'm literally excited. I'm like a young sailor about to make his maiden voyage in a large ship in search for a rare, valuable sea creature that will bring him laurels if captured.

And thus with my wardrobe, top execs, prepare to meet me.