Setting Things Up for My New Life

It’s all slowly coming back to me now, but whatever. Now that I have the body of a goddess, it would be a waste to live a life of mediocrity. But then again, I’d rather not put myself out there with jobs like showbiz. Maybe a bit of modeling jobs would be nice, but I’ll need some connection to tap into that. Nepotism is strong in such industries. However, it would be a different issue if I consider the internet. While I’d rather not expose my looks online, I still have this voice fit for a goddess. And even without it, I have years of online lurking experience. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call me an internet veteran. I’m well-versed in the inner workings of an average lonely single man online, for I used to be one. Such crucial information is a sitting gold mine waiting to be mined. And with all that in mind...

“I’m going to be an internet goddess.”

My eyes are open and I see an unfamiliar ceiling. No, it is unfamiliar but now a little bit less familiar than before. I’m back in my studio apartment, lying on my bed with all limbs spread out in an X pose. I was on a roll earlier, thinking how nice things were gonna be until I remembered a very crucial fact: I have no computer.

In this room which I might as well consider everything I have, my sole sanctuary in this strange world, there’s not a single sign of a computer; neither a desktop nor a laptop. Sure, I have this phone but there’s a limit to what you can do in it. While technically considered a handheld computer, it’s just not the same as using a mouse and a keyboard when doing specific tasks, and especially when multitasking, let alone on multi-tabs and many more multi-screens. There’s no other choice but to buy one. But the thing is…

Available Balance: ₱12,549.47

I sighed as I looked at my phone. I’m sure I can barely afford a complete desktop PC set with this, but I have my own misgivings about that. I opened the app store and searched for the online shopping app, then installed the specific one I was looking for. It has a geometric figure icon with a purple and pink gradient background. After installation, I opened the app and suffered through the blatant full-page ads and flashy banners until pushed the search bar to search for desktop PCs. I saw one priced around 11k but the specs leave much to be desired. Sure, a Core2Duo can be enough for stuff like browsing, some emulators and games, as well as simple image editing and video encoding tasks. But it’s always better to aim higher since better specs can make a 1-hour work down to as short as 30 minutes. There’s also the fact that a 4GB RAM would struggle to breathe on an idle Win10 OS. While I can just install one of the open source OS out there, there are specific programs that need a Win OS so it’s a bother to set up a compatibility layer to run them. Ideally, you’d want a separate computer for each for convenience. I’d rather buy a PC with decent specs than use potatoware until I can afford to upgrade to something that won’t violate my basic human rights of not being subjected to torture.

I let out another sigh. I know I have no choice but to compromise. I’ll just have to cope with a potatoware and find work so I can save up until I can afford a decent one. I looked around and saw a decent rig around ₱60,000. I also have to buy two monitors, a mouse, a keyboard, a headset, and a decent mic so we can throw in ₱10,000 on that just to be safe. This means my goal is to save up ₱70,000 for a good setup. Ahh, if I can just find a lucrative side hustle! Wait, I’m currently unemployed so would it be correct to call it a side hustle when the main hustle is yet to exist? I don’t know, but I want money so badly right now.

I let out yet another sigh. Whatever the case, I should get my ass moving and find a job. I flipped myself up and stood on my bed, this time with both feet side by side while stretching both my arms sidewards, just like the pose of those Olympic divers on a plank. I jumped out of my bed to the floor right next to the bottom side while still maintaining that upright Olympic diver pose but failing to do so. Now my arms are diagonally stretched upwards, reminiscent of the “idiot pose” in a slice-of-life anime about the ordinary life of three sisters. All the dumb characters seem to do the same Y pose like they’re asserting dominance or making a point in that anime, from the second middle schooler sister, the cross-dressing male classmate of the youngest fifth-grade sister, to the junior volleyball club member of the eldest high school sister. Anyway, the landing hurt my bare feet and I felt like an idiot so the anime was right.

I went to my wardrobe and dug around. There are few cheap-looking plain clothes you’d get at secondhand stores and backyard sales.

“Ugh, these are all dresses. It makes sense since it’s a wardrobe, but still…”

I don’t think I’m mentally prepared to wear dresses yet. I need a bit more time. That’s what I told myself as I looked around and saw a wide drawer at the bottom. You can’t expect me to be roaming around the block job-hunting in their pajamas. Who would hire such a loony? I won’t if I am an employer. That’s why I need to dress appropriately, or at least like an upstanding member of society. I know it’s just gonna be a part-time job for a woman who didn’t receive any formal education, maybe? But it’s the feeling that matters. I pulled it out and what greeted me were many stacks of neatly folded panties, bras, and socks. There are several pairs which should last me for about 2 weeks and they’re all just as cheap and plain-looking. That reminded me of our building’s laundry area. I’ll have to go there on weekends from now on. I pulled one of the wardrobe’s square bottom side drawers and saw three pairs of jeans. I opened one of the top side drawers and found several plain T-shirts in different colors. Everything I need is here.

I started to unbutton my pajama shirt and took it off. Two imposing lumps of meat greeted me with such vivacious jiggles as they were released from the tight constraints of my shirt.

“Wow… I never knew they could be this pink.”

I couldn’t help but grab them with each of my hands and give them a little squeeze. That guy from the internet was right. They don’t feel much different from the flabs of your triceps, aside from the fact that there aren’t any muscles on these lumps that couldn’t be contained by my palms. That’s when it hit me: What size are these? Welp, not like I’ll be needing that info any time soon so I pushed that problem for the future me to solve.

I took off my pajama shorts as well anticipating the top view of the panties. Now that I think about it, isn’t it funny for a girl to not know what panties she is wearing? But as my shorts fell on the floor, I couldn’t see them. Heck, I can’t even see my tummy right now! Wow, are they really that huge? But this means that they are firm enough to not be sagging down, right? I agreed to myself as I did a half-bow like an East Asian greeting his superior and finally getting a glimpse of my own crotch… or not. Uhh… These babies lowered my field of vision even further. I gave up and went to the bathroom to finally see my crotch. It was disappointing. No, I mean I see my curves and tight stomach right now which is a feast for the eyes. If I’ll describe it, it’s like a Barbie doll but more well-endowed at the “midsection”, if you know what I mean. What was disappointing was that I’m wearing panties with literally the same plain white design with a tiny ribbon on the waistband, not the alluring ones they have in anime or magazine models but ones with higher area coverage. It’s the type of panties that doesn’t stir up much of one’s imagination. But then again, it still looked nice just from the fact that I was wearing it. As they say, the outfit makes the person. What, I got it backwards? Whatever.

I wore a pair of blue jeans and opened the red tube site app on my phone to search “how to wear a bra”. It was kinda tricky but the video was informative so I got the hang of it quite fast. After that, I wore a black tight-fitting shirt. It is a bit short, enough for my tummy to peek when I stretch both my hands high enough, but I guess this is normal for women’s T-shirts. It doesn’t really look inappropriate in public so I just shrugged it off and went out. My hair brushing against my back near my buttocks as I moved around bothered me so I went to the plastic drawers and picked up one of the scrunchies from a bunch of different colors. I chose the white one with black polka dots and bundled up my hair behind into a single high ponytail. Hehehe, I feel like I’m one of those rugged ronin in anime with such a long ponytail swinging around.

It’s 9:30 AM and the sunlight is just mild enough to warm up my skin. As I walked around the block looking for any hiring posts nearby, I couldn’t help but feel the gazes of people around me. It makes sense considering how I looked through the mirror, especially my eye-catching “midsection”. No, I didn’t mean it scientifically so I’m not talking about my midriff which is also an eye candy. It’s my euphemism for the ones above it with an uncontainable joggle despite being secured by my underwear. I can only imagine how much worse the joggles would be if I were walking out here at a faster pace without wearing a bra, as well as the reactions of people who’d witnessed such an atrocity. That would be horrifying, to be honest.

I saw the orange-green-red tricolor sign of a popular convenience store franchise a couple of blocks ahead and went towards it. It is an ideal walking distance from my apartment, so I might as well try asking for any available slot. I pushed the glass door and a familiar wafting scent of cleaning agents used at malls and clinics immediately welcomed my entry. A middle-aged man looked at me as I approached him. I didn’t feel the same gaze men outside gave me which was a fresh breath of air that I appreciated.

“Hello.”

“Oh, hello there. May I help you?”

“Uhm, I was wondering if you’re looking to hire more staff here…”

“Ohh.”

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to be rude!”

“No, we’re actually about to post a hiring notice. Someone’s about to quit and you came just in time.”

“Really? Thank you! Thank you! Do I have to submit a résumé?”

“No, you don’t have to. You’re the girl who just moved into Mrs. Villanueva’s apartment yesterday, right?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah…”

“You can just sign the employment contract now. Let’s go back to the office this way.”

“Okay.”

“Johnny, please man the store for a bit.”

A short man went towards us. I greeted him with a slight head bow and he reciprocated it. I followed the man who later introduced himself as the manager and quickly signed the contract. Basically, I’d have to work less than 30 hours per week so I’ll earn about ₱9,800 per month. I’ll just fill up shifts as I go but make sure to be always off on weekends. I finished up my business and I will be starting next week when February comes. After that, I got permission to look around from the manager, Mr. Andal. He also toured me around and told me where’s what, like the break room, changing room, storeroom, etc. He sent me off with a free box of Pocky and I thanked him and Mr. Johhny with a smile.

As I walked back to my apartment, I thought about what the manager said. Apparently, I just moved in yesterday. As silly as it sounds, I wonder where I came from. Was there a “Mayumi” before, or was this all just part of a “last Thursdayism theory” phenomenon? It didn’t take long before I found myself in front of the apartment building. I saw the big auntie telling me to come to her, whose name seems to be Mrs. Villanueva, in the small cafe right on the ground floor.

“Mayumi, you don’t have a computer, do you?”

“Uhh, yes.”

“Oh, you came just at the right time. We are replacing my son’s computer with a new one but it’s still usable. I can give it to you if you want it for a small favor.”

“I’d love to. How can I help you?”

“Are you good in Math? He’s having a hard time on their current lesson right now. Was it sine-cosine or something? I don’t remember.”

“Oh, you mean trigonometric functions? I can handle it fine.”

“Yes, yes, that one. You’ll just have to tutor him for a couple of hours tomorrow. How does 2-4 PM sound? Are you free around that time? I’ll bring you snacks when you’re done.”

“Sure, leave it to me.”

And thus, I managed to secure a desktop PC for free.