So Far, So Good

Posted in infuriatum, patheticism, subservience

So it’s time once again for this literary genius (wannabe) to spill his guts out to a faceless audience on the internet. It’s been exactly 5 months and 3 days today since I last spoke with a certain colleague of mine. I never thought fights could last this long! It doesn't bother me too much now though, and I’m not exactly eager to patch things up with her after what she did. Sorry, no details. Anyway, at least I’m in good terms now with the other protagonist in the sensational scandal to start 2008. And I am grateful for that (You reading this?). Really, thanks.

This year also marked the beginning of a new chapter in my call center career. I got bumped over to marketing, and I’d have to admit it’s pretty much like trying to learn French. But as the title says: so far so good. I am learning a lot from this new experience and I can never say enough about how much I appreciate everything that has happened to me work-wise. I think I’ve mentioned this before in my previous posts but whenever I look back to where I came from, and realize how far I’ve come – it’s a mind-blower. It’s one of those very rare moments when I truly am proud of myself. But I know I still have a long way to go, so I remain vigilant. Or at least I try to be.

I’ve also lost a couple of good friends at work this year. I mean the ones that I wish had stayed left, and the one that I had hoped would leave hasn’t. Oh well. Dianne, Ram, and RJ – I wish you guys all the best.

Two thousand and eight also celebrated my 29th birthday. Twenty nine effing years!?? I mean, who knew!?

I guess I’ve spilled enough guts for this post. And Shane if you’re reading this thanks for mentioning me on your blog. As you say, alak na!

There is one other very significant detail about this post that I had intentionally left out. That’s for an entirely different entry. I’m not sure if I want to talk about that part yet. ‘Til here for now. Ciao!!

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My Favorite Stranger

Posted in happy thoughts, video

I'm taking time out to write about the friendliest stranger I have ever seen. He works as a security guard at McDonald's El Pueblo here in Ortigas. Try grabbing a bite at that branch and you'll see what I'm talking about. I mean this guy literally invites passers-by to eat there, serves you ketchup when you need it, and occasionally gives away freebies, among other things. But what really caught my attention was how sincerely he goes about his chores. He greets a few of the regular customers by name, and always seems to have a cheerful smile for everybody. If there was a guy whose happy disposition could rub off on you and somehow make your day a little brighter, this guy is it. Check out the video that I found on Youtube. See? I'm not the only one who noticed.

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Pancakes

Posted in feebility, subservience

Waking up to the smell of pancakes for breakfast is truly one of the better things one gets to enjoy in life. Luckily, for those of us who work in a call center, those of us who don’t get to wake up for breakfast there’s lunch, dinner and all sorts of edible stuff you can get from the friendly convenient store around the block.

The call center industry has indeed - for lack of a more unique term - boomed to exponential proportions with all those foreign multinational corporations setting up their sites here and there. It had opened up a lot of opportunities for people to explore their potential and become a contributor to society without having to be confined to the limitations of one’s educational attainment.

So how does a typical Juan dela Cruz (he has since changed his name to John once he got signed by one of the top call centers in the Philippines) spend his day? He wakes up at around 7:00 PM (he hit the sack at around 11:00 AM earlier), eats a hasty meal and prepares to go to work. By 7:30 he’s saying goodbye to his wife and kid then he’s off to work. He gets to the office at around 8:40 PM and has just enough time to enjoy 1 stick of cigarette before logging in. He enters the office at 9:01 PM and is late by 1 minute. He gets his first call as soon as he logs in to the phones. Its a sup call. The customer is so irate about the product or service that he purchased, so naturally John tries to calm the customer down while holding back his own unrelenting fury. He checks the time and he can’t believe its just 11:00 PM. To him it felt like he’d been wearing that headset for days.

The hours dragged on.

Finally his day mercifully ends. He logs out of the phone as soon as his last irate customer hung up at around 6:45 AM. He goes down the elevator and walks amongst executives and businessmen, except that he goes the other way. Their day’s just beginning. For John, he’s glad to be going home.

He gets home at around 8:30 AM. His wife made breakfast (pancakes), and his 2-year old son wanted to play. He spends almost the entire morning with his family and finally got to sleep at around 11:15 AM, while trying to block out all the noise outside. The following week his shift schedule was changed and he barely had time to see his family awake before going to work.

Now I know typical does not apply to everyone. Some don’t get to do the things John did in the previous example. If anything, working in a call center has made me realize the value of things that I normally took for granted - sleeping, eating right, and spending time with the family.

Pancake anyone?

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Build Me Up, Bitter Crap

Posted in infuriatum, patheticism

How many times do I have to keep ruining great friendships, huh? What fine crap have I gotten myself into again this time? At this rate I’m never gonna keep any real friends. Now she hates me because I told her I liked her. How many times have we seen that happen to me eh? Some idiots never learn.

I know you don’t even bother reading this so it makes no sense for me to post this but hey, in case you do I just wanna let you know how much I regret ever telling you that. Honestly if I could take that back just to keep this friendship going I’d do it.

We were fine for about a week after the revelation and I thought that was the end of it. Now you drop this on me? That you’re not comfortable with me anymore? I’m offering you pure friendship despite the fact that I did like you, and you show me the door. What gives?

Now, I really don’t want to get into another argument (especially with you) on the very first day of 2008. I’m just really frustrated about how things turned out between us, so I vent. I know I brought this upon myself. If this is really how you want it to be then so be it. If we can’t be friends anymore then we could at least be civil. We owe each other that much. Hope you have a great year!

edit:
It's crucial that I add this bit of comment that I made about this post.