Sometimes maniacs conceal their motives by pretending to be friendly with non-suspecting preys.

I'm not supposed to bother with the incident I witnessed in the office but the intriguing scene forced a lift on my eyebrow.

There was this over-aged call center guy who bid his team mate goodbye -
(Uh-huh, no big deal)
When the petite damsel was about to leave, the "granny-dude", who to me can be stereotyped as a DOM, pouted his mouth and asked for a good-bye kiss!

Yuck.

Without a streak of hesitation, the dumb girl approached "granny-dude" and happily gave him a swift goodbye kiss and a curt embrace, which "granny-dude" took advantage of...

They displayed the picture of complete "opposites" - it was just a friendly kiss for the girl but a malicious one for the guy. Hmp!

Imagine how he savored this moment feeling the warmth of a young woman for free! (I overheard from a bus driver that with sidewalk bitches, beerhouse-goers gotta shell out handsome bucks whenever GRO's order for ladies' drinks.)

Anyhow.

Do you know that all people have their private space which is at least 1 foot in radius if we talk about being circumferential in nearness against the person next to us? If someone crosses the borderline, intimacy is bred.

My simple suggestion is "act your age". My overreaction is "stop pedophilia!"

In our call center, talk time is an important metric that reflects an agent's efficiency. An average call should be completed in 5 minutes. I was horrified when a customer rang to follow up on disputes of over 30 transactions! It spiked my call time to 2hours! Statistics-wise, it has killed my handle time that day. But for professional and humanitarian causes, I had to help. Problem is I have limited resources and escalations officers are all not available. This gave me a head ache.

This is just one of the bad calls that day. Earlier calls are equally unpleasant. I had to survive the rest of my shift.

I started to look around and sought God. I realized that there were blessing I chose to ignore:
1. I closed a sale
2. An old friend sent me a Christmas Greeting slide in outlook filled with inspiring quotes. Reading through it made me feel lighter.
3. My new team mates are my new friends.
4. I have a job, others don't.
5. many to mention

Moral of the story: Don't lose your heart when something bad happens. Have a paradigm shift and appreciate God's blessing around!

There came a point in my life when I had been so lonely. This was when I left my family for my boyfriend because I wanted to change my life for what I thought was "better". I realized that we can't just have it all. You get some, you lose some. I wouldn't say that I regret the incident because it was a decision that made me manipulate my destiny. I felt mature and sooo in-control of my life. I felt freedom. But then again, there was this hole in my heart that only the warmth of my parents could fill in. Anyhow! Since I am already a parent too, I would like to rejoice on these simple things that made the Year 2009 colorful and memorable!

1. My Baby Mirmir was born - it was Valentine's Day, February 14. I was then the newest member of the elite club called "motherhood"

2. Vladimir's Baptism - it was held at Grace Park Church in Caloocan City and the reception followed at Great Eastern Hotel. I, myself have never had any sort of a birthday celebration in a hotel. Since this was new to me, I consider this affair a BIG one.

3. Bought a DVD player - this is the first appliance I bought for my new family. I intended to use this for Vladimir's early education. Apparently, his yaya has been using this more than he does. It's fine with me since Remelyn was taking good care of my kid.

4. Mother's Teeth - my mother is a great person. I was her favorite in the brood. So when I eloped, I had this guilty feeling in my heart that I abandoned her. Call this superficial but I financed her false teeth to symbolize that her baby is still trying to keep her promise that I would help her financially (even in little ways). I just grew up and had family of my own.

5. Mother's Cellphone - my 2-in-1 present for my mother: christmas gift and birthday gift.

6. First time to give a cellphone for my Honey - to date my honey has given me 4 cellphones already. In 2009, I bought him a simple samsung phone. This year, I bought him a dual-sim phone.

7. Paid off my Citifinancial Loan - getting rid of a loan is a rewarding experience.

8. CSAT 4th Placer - a lot of customers are hard to please. Being at the 4th spot in CSAT Ranking in the office made me feel good about myself.

9. Opened Savings Account for my baby - he'd be happy to see his fact savings account when he grow up. That is where I'm putting all the money he gets during special occasions, like birthday and christmas.

10. Pag-Ibig Loan Approved - this was to restructure my parents' mortgage from a loan shark, Elisan Credit Corporation.

11. First Airplane Ride - thru Cebu Pacific. We were headed to my hubby's province in Catanduanes.

12. Meet the Medezes - it was my first time to get introduced to my hubby's relatives (father side)

13. Catanduanes Get-Away - Sakahon Beach, Twin Rock Beach, Ancestral House in Bote, Rest House in Bato, Hiking at Papa Mon's vast land, orasyon, etc.

14. I learned how to cook (by force) - I'm no baby but a wife and a mommy.


I'm happy to have lived my 2009 with a BANG!!!

I do not mean to say "government officials." The title pertains to my favorite food stores that I can use as "offices" whenever I want to be isolated from the crowd. Activities that I can do in these places include savoring my favorite food, reading, drafting a write-up for my blog, reviewing my cash flow, one-on-one meeting with my a hubby, a friend or a relative, and ultimately, anything that can satisfy the introvert side of me.

 

Here are some of my nice experiences on top of my usual "office" works.

 

GREENWICH, Rufino Street, Makati City

I discovered the place when I attended a training last September 20. I like their magazine rack, its ambience and cleanliness. For me it's a cheaper Starbucks. The serenity is there without having to buy an expensive coffee.

 

RUBY'S SHAWARMA HOUSE

The place is located near LRT Gil Puyat Station (bound to Monumento).

When I was pregnant of Vladimir, I love eating Mini Stop's ice cream and Ruby's shawarma. After several visits to the store, I finally got the chance to speak with the owner. I learned a lot of things from Ruby. We talked about her rules and principles in dealing with her employees, her marriage, and her business. I guess the most important thing I learned is that, if you're a business-owner, you should be hand-on in dealing with customers. You should be extra-nice when your staff can't do rapport-building. I also observed that she is well-groomed. From now on, I should also pay attention to my physical appearance to earn respect from my employees and also to easily gain the confidence of my customers. I like her to be my friend.

 

I brought a handful of peers in that place. Joni, Elai, Lav, and my mom.

 

McDonalds, 2F MONUMENTO

Whenever my husband and I would discuss business matters that we don't want certain people to hear, we meet at this place. It's very near my hubby's law office and it's just a short walk from LRT Monumento Station. We meet up here after my travel from work. I treasure this kind of bonding moment because in its simple and meaningful sense, we're a good picture of a couple who travels home together from all day's work.

I manage a small computer shop and lately, I find it more productive to do certain fieldwork rather than stay within the four corners of my private room. Why I said so is because when I’m out to visit certain offices, my waiting time can be used as my opportunity to write something for my blog.

 

A day before yesterday, I attended a credit interview at the Parish of the Holy Cross Savings and Credit Cooperative. Their process started with one-on-one interview and after everyone was finished, they conducted an hour-length seminar. During the wait time, I was able to complete one blog article. Yesterday, I was at the bank to pay our telephone bill, and again I completed another article.

 

There must be overlapping principles why I enjoyed this so-called blessing in-disguise.

 

Firstly, your happiness is your responsibility.

Writing had always been my passion since grade school. When I became a mom, I have neglected this talent since there were more pressing obligations I had to fulfill. All those years, there was this emptiness in my heart that only writing can fill in. And so, I am really thankful of the few opportunities I got to spend in writing.

 

Secondly, no pain no gain.

Kristine, a staff, is assigned to perform messenger tasks for the business. She’s a working student and she has an early class today. Even if I could have asked another employee to do her errands for today, I opted to go instead. The results were great: (1) on top of being able to pay the dues, I was able to sign-up in two direct-selling companies, which means more income opportunity; (2) Denver, the most techie in my pool, manned the shop while I was away, and he was able to service all our customers well.

 

Thirdly, we should never stop learning.

I learned today that Security Bank in Malinta Branch also accepts tax payments. I was not aware of this and so I called myself lucky for hitting two birds in one stone. Not only was I able to pay PLDT, I did not have to go to BIR office too.

 

This was another fulfilling day for me. Indeed, initiative and hard work pay off.

 

Be blessed everyone!

Getting rid of a loan is a rewarding experience. I went to VALDECO (a credit cooperative) this morning and had my account closed.

 

Currently, I have so many payables: credit cards, amortizations, utility bills, etc. Crossing one liability out of my list is a great relief for me.

 

I used the cooperative facility when I was helping my mother out in refinancing her mortgage. Our ancestral home nearly got foreclosed by this certain loan shark. If I remember it right, my mom borrowed 200,000pesos from the financial corporation. Unfortunately, she defaulted for several years because of personal problems and severe circumstances, which we know that the lending company would not understand. The initial amount she borrowed ballooned to more than 1million pesos because of added interests over interests over interests. My mom panicked, and I was to the rescue.

 

This chapter of my life inflicted difficulties on me. I had my payroll ATM pawned at VALDECO (which I just closed), I exchanged hurtful and unpleasant words with my parents who had malicious thoughts on my motives despite the help I’m extending them, I was shy and at the same time nervous when I disclosed to my hubby what kept me busy those days that impacted my finances a great deal, I had plenty of absences from work, my monthly budget decreased by Php7000 per month.

 

Anyway, the nightmare is over. My parents’ loan is restructured through my Pag-Ibig credit facility and I obtained back my pawned ATM.

 

Now, I’m just waiting for the refund I’m supposed to get. VALDECO said it will take 1 month for the whole account cancellation process be completed. Fine.

 

Credit cards, you’re next in my “take off” list.

 

Thank you Lord.

Idle hand = idle mind.

I don't understand why a lot of people refuse to work. Perhaps they are afraid to get tired. Without them knowing it, not working can decay one's mental ability. A person becomes stagnant since no new information is being processed by the brain.

 

Another thing that can be annoying about some unemployed folks, by choice, is that they have this tendency to become such a BIG gossip! They waste their time observing other people's lives and then make nasty comments that are nonsensical at all.

 

Future is obscure for those who do not work. Isn't it funny that they dream of having a comfy life when they don't strive hard to gain wealth for their caprices? If they're born with a silver spoon, that's ok but there's gotta be an end to their laziness. If a person is born poor, then, with more reason that joblessness should not be tolerated.

 

Get a life!

resolving a conflict is a "skill" that many people do not have