Another Lazy Day

I feel lazy today. I'm at the office and my shift is about to start. I wanna go out and just do nothing. I actually got plans of calling in sick just to get rid of the office today. I don't like it staying here anymore. Don't get me wrong, i still love being an analyst. I guess my priorities now just changed. Just a few more weeks and i'll be out of this company. Im just looking forward for next week. I'll be off the whole week.. Yipee!

Predicament

It had always been my dilemma whether or not im gonna quit my job for school. I am so blessed to have been given a position in a management level regardless of the fact that I am not a degree holder. I just finished 3rd year in college. But I could brag about receiving a paycheck higher than a store manager.

The pay is really good where I am working, but inside me I am still not satisfied. Yes I am craving for a higher pay but there is still something that I feel “lacking” in my life. I wanna graduate! I wanna get a degree and finish my studies. Im currently taking a few units while im working so that i can still slowly reach for my dreams. My mom has a very tempting offer – she’s gonna shoulder my school expenses provided that I must stop working and focus on my studies. It is indeed VERY tempting! And honestly, I “think” i'll be taking it.

Nowadays, we all know that we are under a major global economic recession. Many people lost their jobs, prices of our primary necessities are getting higher and everyone is experiencing hardships. It confuses me even harder thinking that I already have a nice job so why should I quit? I was able to manage it with my schooling moreover I could do it further. I am also worried how I could adjust from a lifestyle where I can buy whatever I like to a life of a student with very limited resources. It really feels good earning your own money. Day after day I think things over. At the back of my head, im still eager to take mama’s offer.

A friend of mine told me that I’ve got to set my priorities. I’ve got to determine if my job is helping me attain my goals in life. What is more important to me? If studying is really important to me, I’ve got to check if my work is not keeping me from achieving it. And she’s right. I have had a lot of burnt out days due to exhaustion and stress. Yes I passed all my subjects but im not satisfied with my grades because I know I could’ve gotten something higher. There were days that I would miss out school because im too tired attending my classes. There were also instances wherein I wouldn’t be able to do home tasks and projects because I wouldn’t have time to do it. I spent most of my time at work.

And then again I thought everything over. I reflected and made a decision - I am going back to school as a full time student this June 2009.

First Love

I just slept for 4 hours today. I got an invitation from a friend to watch a movie - the reader. Boy has it been so long since i took myself into a cinema. The movie only interests me for the sole reason that Kate Winslet won as the best actress during the 81st academy awards for this film. The story was nice and kate portrayed a heavy role excellently. The movie's got a lot of butt-exposure scenes and bed scenes. To my male friends, if you wanna see kate winslet's ass - aside from that of Titanic - then the movie is for you. I cried when i watched it. I liked how the story went and evidently proved that all praises they recieved were very well-said.

The Reader is about a may-december love affair where the woman is older.

It tells the story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who as a teenager in the late 1950s had an affair with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crime trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. Michael realizes that Hanna is keeping a personal secret she believes is worse than her Nazi past, a secret that — paradoxically enough — could help her at the trial.

The film also tells about a lot of first times - first kiss - first love - first sex - first sensual touch - first affair - first trial of different sex positions - first heartbreak - first fight with a special someone - and first time of making love. Looking at the innocent boy who falls in love for the first time refreshes my memory when i first fallen in love. I was so young, so naive, so oblivious towards what was going on with the world and by that time, all i cared about was my happy heart making me feel like im dancing on a cloud nine. Being the youthful me, i was so fragile. How the boy in the story was broken-hearted was exactly the way my heard was broken the first time. It drawn me closer to the film.

When i went out from the movie house, something made me think. Is first love really never dies? If it truly doesn't, what will happen to the love that we found today? Why can't i feel the same feeling that i had for that boy? Is it just sleeping somewhere inside us waiting for that person to wake it up?

I would admit that it took me a very long time recover from that bittersweet experience.

SWEET

The relationship started as 2 complete strangers where their paths crossed in an unexpected time and day. It was just the start of the year when we bumpt into each other's way. We had several dates - gotten to know each other - typical romantic love story on bizaare times. We always had our dates during late nights - where most of the people are asleep - the streets are not busy - and the gentle soft breeze of the cool air lifts both of our happy hearts high. Every moment felt like the last for a boy who just learned how to fall in love with a fellow boy. Days, weeks and months passed by breathlessly for two young men in love.

BITTER

As we lasted, like a normal relationship, we encountered problems. Problems that were falling rocks around our ways - hurting us - creating loopholes and roadblocks that we both wasn't able to surpass. It was a tragic experience for me because i didn't have any idea what will happen, how to face it, and how to deal with the mess that i was about to go through. I cried blood during those scurrilous days. That was the first time my heart was broken. The pain was unfathomable.

Well, despite what happened, I still appreciated him for "passing by" my life. He taught me a lot of valuable lessons that until now i am still keeping. The pain had gone by. The memories are still there.

Life really is knavish. My heart learned to fall in love again. After every relationship, i still get hurt. But i managed to grasp learnings that keep me reminded of the things that ive unlikely done and make me prevent them. So to answer my questions, first love dies at the moment both of you ended it. Love exists if you let it rule over you and influence your life. Don't force it to die. It dies by itself. As for me, this is why i was able to open myself for someone else. I let another person come in to my heart and just let it learn to fall. The only thing that can tell you that you're ready to love again is your heart itself. It will just happen. If it becomes ready, then you'll just feel it without even knowing it. Finally, once love dies, it's gone. It doesn't sleep if it dies in the first place.

Well in my case - I remember the boy, but i don't remember the feeling anymore..

One Good Reason For Rejoicing Today

I am so happy today because it is the first day of my summer vacation. Many may not know that before i go to the office and work at night, Id been studying in the afternoon. My life everyday is very tiresome. But i've got to do it because i wanna finish my studies.

My day starts in the afternoon. I wake up at 1:00 PM and then take my first class at 3. It ends usually at 6:30 PM. After that, I immediately got to the office and sleep for a couple of hours, say 9 PM, and then goes to the floor for work. The office has a sleeping quarter so i am one of the employees who is very thankful for having one. I take full advantage from it. And so my work ends at 6:30 in the morning - the next day. Lucky if there will be no post-shift meetings because usually i extend my stay in the office if there are any. I have a 30 - 45 minute travel from the office going home. Once i step inside our house, i directly go to bed and wake up at 1 PM. So their goes my routine every single day for the last year.

Now that the semester has ended, i am rejoicing because finally, i would get to enjoy myself on TV, movies, shopping, or just by sleeping the entire day. My life goes back to a normal and relaxed call center employee.

*yawn*

Well, its already about 6:25 AM - gotta stop for now and prepare for log off!

Good Night!

Blogging, Bloggers and Me

This has really never been my hobby. I am not the type who sits down and jot everything what im thinking. I am a fan of those people who can just write everything that plays on top of their head - easily gathers their thoughts and then the next thing you know, they have created a masterpiece. For them their just ordinary and random thoughts that came into words. But when i read it, i'd really admire how their minds work, how they contruct their sentences to elaborate bare things and expound unadorned matters.

Three of my favorite bloggers are paul, annamie and jumax. These people really amazes me with the way they express their emotions over big and small stuff. Seldom do i sit and take time to read somebody else's public journal. But with any of these three girls, i could really say that their posts are worth the time to read. It may be on "inamaw" things, just making pa-kikay, buzzing the buzz in town, reacting on what somebody else is wearing, or just a simple event that happened in their lives that they wanna share to the world, they're astonishing!

I hope i could post their links here but i guess i have to ask their permission first. Hmmmmm, i haven't even made my blog site public yet so there's really nothing that i should be worrying about. Hehehe!

The BPO Whore

When I first heard about call centers, i plainly thought that people who are working in this field are just 'taking calls'.

I entered the call center world in 2004, a week after my birthday. I got really excited because my brother then used to work in convergys, where i also first got employed. First thing that made the job so attractive was the moooolahh - the pay. True. Who would ever thought that an unprofessional guy like me could get a job that pays like a manager from a fastfood chain? - where i used to work for a couple of months. Convergys opened my mind to a whole new life. It made me realize what i'm capable of despite the fact that i am an undergraduate. It boosted my pride. I didn't mind losing my job at all coz i know id get employed to somewhere else. I admit that i am a call center hopper. No big deal! Got tonz of friends who are like that. Worked in Cebu Global for 2 months, then in PeopleSupport for a year and 8 months, and then now in ePerformax as a Quality Analyst. I became more proud when i reached the management level knowing what i just attained academically. No offense to my friends who are graduates, but its just something that i can be proud of when i come to think that i have "professionals" who are under my team and are under my lead (at work). But hey, i do have a lot of respect to all my agents coz they taught me a lot of lessons that molded me into what kind of a manager i am now. (To even think about it, i am still a student.)

Getting to where i am is never a walk in the park. I know its not really that big of a position, but to reach this level is an achievement most especially to a student like me.

This really took me off the track to even made me decide to stop studying. It blazed my mind off from my life's gameplan. It totally twisted my life and turned it into something unplanned and abrupt. The money that i got out from my work took me to a lot of places - fed me on high end restaurants (something that i had heen deprived from since i dont come from a well-to-do family) - made me stand on my own feet - let me lived alone - made me do stuff that i really wanted - made me take anybody home without being reprimanded - visited anybody or to wherever i wanted - went home late - or not to go home at all - waking up late - smoked a lot - drunk all i can - got me dead wasted - spent how much i wanted - bought whatever i liked - did whatever i pleased - life was totally a beach! Those were the things that call centers got me into. A life full of luxury and wealth. Those were the things that made me grateful about the americans who thought about outsourcing their businesses here.

I would never have to forget mentioning that through this industry, i met most of the dearest people in my life. My 2 bestfriends, 3 gurlfriends, the goddesses, team mates, foodtripmates, out-of-town buddies, gym buddies, QAs, coaches, supes, housemates, or basically the people who i can mutually call - friends.

In every job that we may engage ourselves into, we can never take any pressures off. It is always there. Even if we end up with our dream job, we still cant deny that there will always be deadlines, targets, goals, accountabilities, deliverables and what nots. Well, it wont be called a "job" if you wont have responsibilities, right? In call centers, these things do exist and its really up to you - your body, mind, and heart - on how you will dwell and balance on everything. Ive got lots of friends who are really excellent in what theyre doing on the floor but their bodies could just not bear the demand of the job - waking up on ungodly hours, working overnight and extremely extended hours of work on pre and post shift meetings. You also have to learn how to stabilize yourself emotionally regardless of the physical exhaustion that you get. What actually makes this job challenging is how you need to appreciate the need of faking your emotions inorder to satisfy the person you are talking to on the other line, at the same time your boss, your team and the company. When i say "faking" your emotions, it means that no matter what happened to you earlier today, you need to maintain a professional disposition towards your client - lucky if you are in a good mood - but how about if when you lack rest because you slept late due to an existing "brown-out" that resulted to being irritable by the heat of the afternoon sun? Bad Trip! and then on your way to work, an old lady stepped on to your shoes when she rode in a jeep where ur riding.. Can you set your mood immediately by the time you'll take in calls and still smile on all of your conversations? I guess not! And Oh, I have to mention, adding up all the exasperating co-workers that you may have, PUH-LEEEZ! Ruins Your Day! Better AVOID than being sorry!

Looking back, i cant help but smile and realize how the industry molded me into what i am and enhanced my skills personally and professionally - started as an agent where the headset and the avaya were my weapons and my tongue was my ammunition - now a Performance Analyst where the evaluation sheets are my tools and my mind as my fortress. Despite how i whine about uncertain schedules, unspeakable pressures, and infuriating "people", i still have to say "THANK YOU BPO" for a life full of pleasant and aggravating memories that will forever etch in my heart.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

Who in the world would not know KFC?

For me, they have the world's most delicious fried chicken ever made my mankind. Forgive my exaggeration, but i believe that nothing compares to its juicy meat, whether original or spicy cooked, and its irresistible taste that makes your mouth water and once tasted, it would make want to grab some more. I would NEVER exchange a KFC chicken meal with anything else! It makes me wonder, how did this amazing food come to its existence? And so, to my curiousity, I checked their website and here were the things that i found out:

Its greatness was made possible through the efforts of Col. Harland Sanders - he bacame a colonel not because he joined the army but because he was recognized as an honorary colonel for his contribution to the state of Kentucky's cuisine by the governor. His first restaurant was in a small front room of a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. He was the station operator, cashier and chief cook all at the same time. He named his resto - Sander's Court and Cafe".

The birth of the original recipe was in 1940. He began franchising by travelling from town to town and cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and employees. His first franchise was in 1952 to Mr. Pete Harman of Salt Lake City. It cost a nickel for Col. Sanders for every chicken sold.

The chicken were first sold in buckets last 1957. In 1960, KFC expanded with 190 franchises and 400 franchise units in both USA and Canada. Six years after, the KFC Corporation went public and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1969.

Now, KFC continues to fascinate us with new recipes and delectible new tastes. My favorite is the hot and spicy chicken served with another KFC delightful dish - spaghetti. Their spag also amazes me for it really catches every Filipino's taste buds. In fact, their spaghetti tops my list from any other spaghetti in town. Yummmmy!

Another heavenly entry in their menu are their burgers. From the chicken fillet, to the wow burger and then their mouthfully irresistible signature huge sandwich - the zingeRRR! It's my favorite sandwich - KFC Zinger - made witth hot and spicy chicken fillet with fresh lettuce and topped with rich mayonnaise in a soft kaisser bun. I could finish up one whole sandwich in just over a sweet conversation either with my baby, my girlfriends, officemates, schoolmates or just by myself.

For A complete list of their exquisite recipes, you could visit their website by clicking HERE!

Enjoy your finger-lickin' goodness meal with KFC! :)

Vote EARTH!

I am not an environmentalist! But i honestly have this "care" for our planet. It is the place where we all live. It provided us all the necessary things that we need in order to survive. Now, i guess even just for one hour in a year, i could express my "thanks" to our dear world. I am supporting Earth Hour! I hope you are too..

Here's a clip from their website on what Earth Hour is all about:

VOTE EARTH

YOUR LIGHT SWITCH IS YOUR VOTE

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming. For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.Saturday,

March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.