Tuesday, September 1, 2009

frustration


There is a need to manage my frustration. Note: the operative word is NEED. ugh... I have been working my ass to complete the CCC University Silver Certification. I am one online test away from my goal. Today, I took the test and failed again for the 3rd time! Sucks right? How can I allow myself to fail so many times? I admit this is not under the scope of my support but this is a company requirement. I am enlisting myself for another shot @ this test and keep my fingers crossed that this time around I will be successful. 

Here is a screen shot of my test score:

Monday, August 31, 2009

Bus Stop

IN MY LIFE'S JOURNEY I HAVE...


... learned life's best lessons
... loved passionately
... died an emotional death
... met well meaning strangers
... formed great friendships


This list can go on and on but what does it mean really? This journey is not mere circumstance. By birth, this is our destiny. Our fate. We cannot not take this journey. It's just a matter of how it is presented to you.

Crossroads and bus stops define, if not sum up a person's journey. Every scar..every tear..triumph and  laughter tells a story. It can make or break a person. At 30, I am battle scared but resplendent. I have survived some of the hardest crossroads. From one stop to another I bring wisdom and strength.

Today, I am still at one of my bus stops and alarmed to have become comfortably numb waiting for the next bus. Keeping my fingers crossed that the ticket I have now would take me to the ride to happiness. 

Thursday, August 27, 2009

My Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 27 August 2009

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.
 
The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

I am compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I receive compensation for my posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

 This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.


To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Tinkerbell

I hate goodbyes. Bidding someone goodbye brings about anxiety... of being physically separated or emotionally detached to someone of great importance to our life. Separation is one of life's bitter aspects. I have lived through and survived a lot of physical and emotional separation in my life.

Today, I am saying goodbye to my manager. A person who not only inspired me to be the best supervisor there is but also to be the best daughter I can be to my parents. He is not merely a manager to me and to the rest of the CCC PLP Team.. he is a friend.

He fought my battles with me up to the very end. I will be forever grateful for the unconditional support he has given me. We share a common denominator being bread winners and he would often say "we are on the same boat"... we understand each other without having to provide lengthy explanations.

I have worked with quite a few managers in my entire career and Dex would definitely be my #1 if I were to rank all of them.


Cheers to you Tinkerbell!

Monday, July 27, 2009

bonding over HP6

My sisters and I have been following the Harry Potter series since its first book was released in 1997. Although we have not bought a book.. [yeah, not even a single one] we have managed to read all 7 installments. Today, we decided to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the SM Cinema. To say that I was disappointed with the movie was an understatement. It lacked the HP flair.. the magical side of the movie was somewhat bland. Oh well, I am not writing this post to criticize, I am not a movie critic.

The movie may not have satisfied my personal "magic fix meter" but it did pave the way for another bonding time with my siblings. I realized how I've missed them. It dawned on me that I have not spent quality time with them these past months. Sure we live in the same house but we are all consumed by our individual responsibilities that we forgot to bond as siblings. For sometime I'd say we just coexisted. My sister Meg, works for a casino. She is currently on 3 shifts and we rarely get to talk. Mia, is on her senior year in college. She is also busy joggling her way through classroom discussions and hospital duties. She too, works shifting hours. Our youngest Miko, is also preoccupied with school activities. We are 4 people who call each other family but failed to touch base on how we really are doing.

We used to joke around a lot and have pillow fights. Suddenly, I look at them and they have grown. Mia and Miko especially. My Chuchay and Bubum are now Mia and Ken to their friends.. they are now young adults starting to find their own place under the sun. I felt the need to reach out to them more. To start "talking" to them again.. I promised myself I would spend less time on sleep and Facebook during my rest days. Let them know that I am here and I will not let a day pass without telling them or making them feel that I love them.

It's not too late... we can still catch up on those lost months.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Maw's Addiction

I have recently discovered the wonders of Facebook. Since I created my account a little over 5days ago, I have developed an addiction to the different applications available. Surprisingly my mom did too! Today, she asked me to create an account for her as well. How cool is that huh? Don't get me wrong though, the account was not created to improve her social network. It was basically created for one sole purpose... play Texas Hold' Em  Poker.
I find it really amusing to see her play this game. My mom is in her late 50's and not computer savvy. She panics at a single pop up window that would come up on her screen. *laughs* At first she was struggling to keep up with the pace of other players but as she became a "regular" she became at par with the rest of them. To date, she is a Pro 100k player!
It delights us to see mom having a blast by merely playing this game. It has become a part of her daily routine. She can stay in front of the pc for hours... winning..losing...interacting with people half way across the globe.
It was quite a jump from her favorite ZUMA game an interactive game like poker.  

                         

Friday, July 24, 2009

rubble

I love to write. Since I was in grade school I already keep a journal. I didn't own a fancy one but I have a pile of notebooks which I used as my diary. As I was growing up, I kept on doing what I do best...writing. [as far as i'm concerned..i'm good!] When it was my time to go to college, I wanted to take up a course that would hone my writing skills. But death to me, my mom had plans of her own. I was forced to take up a degree on Accounting. [sucks] I was so devastated that I stopped writing.

After graduation and a couple of months being a professional bum, I decided to work and never stopped working since. And with the busy schedule and toxic work horse life.. I forgot about writing. It was not until the day that I started traveling. My travels brought new inspiration and stirred the writer in me. I'm not after writing professionally at this point but just to get my thoughts out in the open. Writing to serve as an outlet of all my raves and rants.

Sure I was still using the old fashioned pen and paper way of writing my journals. Then Friendster happened. I tried to maintain my Friendster blog but failed. I still revert to the old reliable pen and paper. I was content until Daisy, one of my colleagues introduced Blogspot to me March of this year. I created my account and scribbled my thoughts away.

Lately, I haven't been able to write regularly. Mainly because my life seemed uneventful. I do have a lot of articles that remained as drafts until now. I guess we all come to a point that we write just for the sake of writing. Without feeling anything or without an objective or a purpose. Just to keep the thoughts out. This is my blog and whatever I write here is none of everyone's business. Sometimes I just hope that a few gems will come out of this rubble.

I am looking forward to writing more posts.. :(

Thursday, July 23, 2009

more manga

Just for fun, here are the result of my friends' manga..



Bernard


Linet

Jac

If you see them in person, you would agree with me that these images are not far fetch from how they really look like.

Interested on creating your own? Click HERE

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Dell Latitude D630

A little over 7mos ago, my laptop was stolen at gunpoint while I was on my way to the office. I struggled through my tasks all throughout these months since I was not mobile unlike the other supervisors. I also had to fight for the company not to smash me with USD1220.00 worth of salary deduction! death to me,right? Luckily, Dex [my uber bait boss] and Brent [my boss' boss] were kind enought to help me out. I still have to pay but not the whole amount. They also agreed to have it payable in 24 equal payments within a year. Oh well... that's water under the bridge now.

Today, I have just received my new laptop. It came with a cool laptop bag that my reps and others have been bidding to have. Mervin assisted me and set up the applications and whoala....I'm using it right now. We learn our lessons the hard way - this is a cliche but I definitely say this is true. The incident last January 2nd was very traumatic. I don't want to go through that experience again. With my new laptop, I hope everything goes well..

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

my manga

Before I left the office yesterday, my friend Jaclyn asked me to access a site to create my manga. Not knowing what a manga is, I endulged. Here's the result...




Coolness right?!

Hmm... so there, I decided to make it my profile pic. :)

Monday, July 20, 2009

MAFIA WARS

I am addicted to Mafia Wars. My sister couldn't understand where the "fun" is, but who cares? I enjoy it and most of my friends enjoy it too.
I am a Level 34 Mogul and looking forward to leveling up my Mafia.

To my fellow Mafia Wars addicts.... keep the ENERGY PACKS comin'!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Team Maserati: Laguna Escapade

July 18th marked the first Maserati Overnight Team Building at Monte Vista Resorts in Laguna. Due to the unpredictable weather, only 9 reps where able to join. Nonetheless, we had a blast. James was the foodcom chairman and Joel was his co-chairman. I thought everyone's gonna be drunk but the team building turned out to be one hell of a food fest! Not to mention that we all had a good laugh all throughout the night. I am very proud of my team.. it did not even take us a week to plan and execute. Everyone was cooperative and everything was all set in no time!

You can view o
ur team pics here

Friday, July 10, 2009

catchin zzzz...

Sleep is a luxury I work hard to afford...

Thursday, July 2, 2009

So sick..

Since I started my professional career I have always been an advocate of good reliability. Productivity starts with being at work and being able to fulfill the assigned tasks efficiently. As a supervisor, I want to lead by example. This is the best way to encourage and influence reps to achieve their fullest potentials.

Just this week, I had to call in sick for 2 days. I am not happy about it. I had to cancel important meetings. I was feeling a little bit under the weather and due to the H1N1 scare, I decided to give myself time to rest.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Your result for The Intellectual Sexiness Test...

Intellectual Inferno

You have an intellectual sexiness factor of 81!


Who am I to give you advice? You already know everything you need to know, and if there's something you don't know, you're eager to check it out. You are among the few special minds in the world that are truly free, totally creative, and absolutely sexy.

The downside is, it's hard to find partners who can keep up with your quick, vigorously sexy mind. You often find yourself bored with anything less than exciting sex, and only those who equal your intellect, your openess, and your creativity can provide that excitment. You're an avid reader, a deep thinking, and a sexually liberated person. You enjoy learning for its own sake just as much as you enjoy sex for pleasure's own sake.

Your partner, if he or she is able to keep up with you, is extremely lucky to have you.


Take The Intellectual Sexiness Test
at HelloQuizzy

Friday, June 19, 2009

at last... I have FACEBOOK!

Yes, my facebook account is overdue. I have been meaning to create an account since forever but due to some technical setbacks (i,e. no internet access at home, duh!) it took me this long. I finally created an account today and I am still checking out the wonders of FACEBOOKing [does'nt sound right..who cares? this is my blog.. my rules! *wink*] Better than Friendster and definitely loving the games!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Sonnet: Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer

I am not really in the mood to write about anything so I decided to just check out my blog roll. I came across this post, "my dating persona".. I am 30, enjoying my single yet happy life and I am definitely curious to know my dating persona.

Then I found myself following the link.. taking the test and after a few clicks, whoala!



Check out the result..





Sonnets want Love and have high ideals about it. They’re conscientious people, caring & careful. You yourself have deep convictions, and you devote a lot of thought to romance and what it should be. This will frighten away most potential mates, but that’s okay, because you’re very choosy with your affections anyway. You’d absolutely refuse to date someone dumber than you, for instance.

Lovers who share your idealized perspective, or who are at least willing to totally throw themselves into a relationship, will be very, very happy with you. And you with them. You’re already selfless and compassionate, and with the right partner, there’s no doubt you can be sensual, even adventurously so.

You probably have lots of female friends, and they have a special soft spot for you. Babies do, too, at the tippy-top of their baby skulls.


I was surprised... It was all me. What's fun about this test is that it also showed the dating persona's I should avoid and of course my match!





Take the test here


Special Thanks to:


Jeicubs for leading me to this test *wink*

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Kudos!

A little over three months ago...two of my favorite reps got promoted to the Fulfillment Coordination Team. Raz and Carla are considered as Team Maserati's cream of the crop. They both have excellent KPIs and great reliability track records to name a few.

Raz is our "bunso". She is sweet and would always welcome her team mates with a smile. Carla on the other hand is more reserved, very lady like but can be crabby once provoked. I both love them dearly.

Although they have moved to a new team, they will always be considered as part of Team Maserati.

Just today, I received good news that Raz received her confirmation to the FC Team! Woot! We are awaiting for Carla's confirmation come Thursday.

Nonetheless, It calls for a celebration...



Kudos to Raziel Arenas & Carla Lontoc



Team Maserati is proud of you!!!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Lakers Rule!

My prayers were answered... Los Angeles Lakers is 2009 NBA Champions. Winning the series 4-1! It was an awesome finish beating the Orlando Magic @ their home court (AMWAY Arena).


As I have expected,





KOBE BRYANT is Finals MVP!

24/7 online..










woohoo! Finally, internet access at home!

Friday, June 12, 2009

3-1!

Weee! The Los Angeles Lakers lead the NBA Finals Championship series 3-1! Game 5 is scheduled 14 June @ 8ET. I'm keepin' my fingers crossed...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Till we meet again, Jaz!

Over the past months the CCC Philippines Team has hosted numerous exchangees from West Kingston, RI. Jasmine joined us in January of this year to launch the Sales Order Administration pilot team. On her first week, I was curious how she would handle the cultural differences and other "issues" that will come her way during her stay. Although Filipinos are known to be good hosts, some people do not easily adapt to new environment or new set of personalities to say the least.

Surprisingly, she adapted really well to the Philippines and everything that came with the territory. I did get a chance to hang out with her a few times and thought she is really a cool person. We also had our small talks during cancer breaks. Although these are just small talks, I enjoyed it. I am glad to know that she had fun during her stay here, especially the trips to Puerto Galera... the 2 bottles' session (after shift @ the Diners)... the trips to the "foundation". She did enjoy McDonalds' apple pie and just had a blast spending time with the reps.

It's sad that her work is done here and would be returning to Rhode Island come Saturday. With this being said, I want to wish her the best of luck.

JAZ... no goodbyes. Just tata for now.

Till we meet again...

P.S.

I promise to send a pic of my 1st pumpkin pie!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Constellation of Shining Stars!

The stars used to be just a company of 6 friends.. now we have doubled (yes,x2!) our number. We now have a constellation of shining stars! From the original members...

Maria aka Dream
Bernard aka Porn
Me aka Love
Jac aka Happy
Judy aka Meek
Jc aka 3rd


There comes the 2nd generation of stars..

Tyr aka Wild
Archie aka Broken
MarkJavi aka Tummy
James aka Death
Vic aka Bold
Egay aka Morning



Welcome to the constellation guys!


pic still unavailable..
:(


Tuesday, June 9, 2009

People Always Leave

I have worked on graveyard shifts for almost 4 years and sometimes I find that urge to take time off and live a "normal life" even for just a few days. I got the opportunity to take time off last week. I have a total of 5days! While on leave, I found time to clean my room...catch up on my reading (currently reading Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn)...sleep at night and pretty much do anything that I felt like doing. One of the things I love to do is go on DVD marathons. I'd like to believe I am a very patient person but when it comes to TV series I become really impatient on having to wait up for another week for the next episodes. Needless to say, I have my own favorites. One Tree Hill and Prison Break to be specific. The most convenient way to enjoy the series season after season? Purchase a DVD copy of the entire series!

During my vacation, I came across One Tree Hill Season 1. Knowing how each of the characters' lives changed throughout the different seasons.. I kinda felt nostalgic and wanted to watch season 1 all over again! So I did.

I prepared a pitcher of my favorite drink...a good number of potato chip packs beside me and I was all set. It felt good to see the characters again in their youth..when all they cared about was cheer leading and basketball. And then there's Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer... struggling to cope with the death of her mom. Peyton is an artist and I loved how she illustrates her feelings.. her emotions... through her sketches. "People Always Leave" this is the sketch she made to illustrate pain and struggle for the loss of a loved one.

It made me think of people whom I've met and lost.. We don't lose someone solely because of death. There are a lot of ways to lose someone. We lose old friends to new friends... an old flame to a new passion... the list can go on forever but for any loss..there is always an equivalent level of pain. A void that people who are left behind struggle to fill in just to make it through each day. In romance, we lost our significant others to new loves and in my case, to marriage. Even in someone's professional life, we lose colleagues. We lose them to better pay checks and new opportunities.

When I think of losing someone again...it always gives me a dreary feeling. I hope I won't have to deal with this feeling several times in my life.. But then again, reality bites.

As soon as I was back to work, my manager announced his resignation.

It felt so awful.

Peyton was right.. people always leave. :(

Friday, May 29, 2009

Happy ever after


"And they lived happily ever after"...

Most, if not all of us have read and heard about this infamous line once in our lifetime. When I was a kid I actually believed in happy ever after. Whenever I watch my favorite Disney princesses, I would picture myself with my prince and having my own happy ever after.

Then, LIFE happened.

As reality set in, it became clearer to me that fairy tales are not called as such for nothing... it would actually need a fairy godmother to grant a person his instant happy ever after with her little wand. Some people took a lifetime to achieve it and some never experienced it at all. The road to happiness may not always lead a perfect ride. More often its a bumpy.. shaky road. Only the bravest of hearts would dare endure this ride. I took this road too.. the ride entailed gallons of tears and failed relationships. At some point I got tired..I decided to stop the chase and rest.

Sitting alone reminded me of the simple things we nee
d to appreciate in our lives.. it gave me so many realizations I have forgotten to consider as I took the journey. Then it struck me, happiness is a choice. It's something we decide on ahead of time. A decision we make every morning when we wake up. It is the acceptance of what you already have in your life and learning to appreciate it.
Happy Ever After is a state of
acceptance... of contentment. In reality, it doesn't require a prince or romance to experience it .


P. S.



Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Shining Stars

Each of us represents a star in the sky... sometimes we shine together, sometimes we twinkle alone. In our life, we meet a lot of people... some brings out the best in us, some unleashes the beast buried deep inside of us.

In a lot of ways, we mirror ourselves with the people we hang out with. We set aside the individual differences..hang on to the common denominators and form friendships.


I am proud to have been blessed with wonderful friends.. the Shining Stars!




Standing (L-R): Meek, Love & 3rd
Seated (L-R) : Porn, Dream & Happy

Monday, May 4, 2009

Nightmares of Bolinao

My manager gave the CCC Team Leaders a summer treat for what he described as our "phenomenal dedication, hard work, and passion towards excellence". The date was set on May 2-4 and our destination... Bolinao, Pangasinan.

We left Cavite after the shift, Saturday @ 9am (May 2nd) and arrived at the Treasures of Bolinao Beach Resort and Hotel a little past 3pm where Dex (our super cool boss!) booked for a suite accommodation for 3days & 2nights. Needless to say, everyone is tired and starving from the long drive... Not to mention that we have not slept the previous night, ugh! After checking out our room and deciding on our bed assignments, we were off to the cafeteria to eat. To our dismay, nobody from the staff bothered to approach us and take our orders...nobody even bothered to greet us... to say the least. Gggrr!

I can hear my stomach growling... an indication that I was really starving, I could eat a whole cow! *laughs* Realizig that we are wasting precious minutes, we took it upon ourselves to find a "decent" table to settle in and John, one of the Business Systems Team Lead decided to approach the crew (odd right? the guests literally needed to look for someone to assist us!) to ask for the menu and eventually take our order. As we were waiting for someone to spare us some attention, I checked out the videoke machine to see if we could pass the time over a few songs... but again to my disappointment... the machine is busted! What I saw was a relic of the song book.. with the pages torn and falling off!

the song book relic

We are a pool of young professionals with one forte' "customer service"... and you need to believe me when I say we can definitely spot the lack of it! So then after almost an hour of waiting, an attendant was on our way with the menu. We hurriedly ordered and was appeased with the thought that we are a few minutes away from "Lunch". It's a consolation that we got our drinks served a few minutes after we ordered. (check out the "Iced Tea" that TL Ryan ordered..see below). Then again, the wait time is despicable! It turned out that all if not most of the staff are students that were on-the-job training. *sigh* I really couldn't blame them, they are students. What I don't get is why the hell was the F&B Manager allowing such a lousy service.


"Iced Tea"

To cut the story short, we finally got to eat. To be honest, it was the most expensive meal I ever paid for. Considering that the food is pretty bland..the service sucked and most of all the place was a mess! I can see flies everywhere...the adjacent tables were left uncleaned... *sigh*


In an effort to make the most of our vacation, we went for a swim. The pool was packed so we opted to check out the waves and take a plunge in the Pangasinan waters. When we got back to the resort, the pool was deserted... our turn to enjoy a more tranquil swim.

It was a fun time to get up close and personal with the other team leads. John wanted to finish off the night over a few bottles of San Mig Light but guess what? THEY RAN OUT OF BEER!!!!

Early on we were already thinking of checking out and leaving, but because we were all tired (especially our driver, Kuya Dan) we decided to stay for the night. I guess running out of beer was the last nail on the coffin. We are out of this place first hour tomorrow morning! I was so frustrated that I decided to call it a night and sleep through my disappointment.

Morning came, It was a fine day. We decided to have coffee to jump start our day. We are expecting a couple of hours drive since we have not decided on where to go yet. We fixed our things and headed to the cafeteria. Well, just when I thought that the series of unfortunate events has come to a halt... I was wrong. No coffee. Sucks right?

I am ending this post just about now before I go berserk! (again WTF!)




Treasures?... nah, more like Nightmares of Bolinao!

Friday, April 17, 2009

2 bottles and wounded soldiers...

It was 8:03am..everyone started to set their Nortel phones to "make busy" twice. Another day at work has ended. It's a cue for everyone to leave and go home...or proceed to the Diner's where reps, team leaders and exchangees hang out for after shift beer.

For most of the people working for call centers, drinking sessions after shift has become a habit. It's our way to relax and talk about our not so good experiences with our customers. Our exchangees from Rhode Island seemed to have developed the same habit. They would even stay up until 2pm with the gang. Brian, one of the exchangees would ask "dalawang bote?" in a very americanized way. I am not a beer drinker but I enjoy hanging out with the guys. Today, we had a full house at the Diners. Those who are in attendance were Brian, Ryan and Paul (exchangees), John and myself (Team Leaders), Mark, JC, Joe, Gem, CJ, James, Egay, Vic, Bryan,Jac, Bernard (reps) and Linet (QA). It was a happy to sight to see. Despite cultural and individual differences we were having fun.

Soon after..reps started to leave and all that was left were wounded soldiers.. the empty bottles of SanMig Light that witnessed the bond that friends have over two bottles.

NOTE:
We call it 2 bottles even if we consume more than that because we stop counting after two!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Thoughts to ponder..

This is an email sent by my friend Dexter, who incidentally is also my manager:



There are two ways to live your life:
One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
There is no mistake so painful that love cannot forgive… no past so bitter that love cannot accept.
And no love so little that we cannot start all over with.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Brunch and more @ ATC..

It's the 15th..PAYDAY! Like any other payday...we decided to eat out. We got tired of our usual fast food and Hidden Tapsi visits. Today, we are off to North Park Noodle House at Alabang Town Center. North Park offers scrumptious Chinese food.

We had to travel for a good 45mins to an hour just to have our brunch. I can say it was worth the travel time and the money. We had Yang Chow Fried Rice, Salted Garlic Squid, Boneless Lemon Chicken, Lechon Macau and Fresh Prawn Dumpling. To say that my tummy was packed that day is definitely an understatement. Not to mention that we also made a quick visit to Dairy Queen. Judy wanted to check out their famous Blizzard (served upside down or its free!)


I am enjoying my nice super creamy and funkily messy Oreo blizzard when we saw Dexter, our manager on the same side of the mall and walking towards us. We candidly asked him to join us. After a few spoonfuls of blizzard (from Judy), he headed on his way to the bank nearby to pay his bills. Realizing that we still have to report for work in the evening, we decided to call it a day and go home. On our way to the car park, Vic asked if we could stop at Starbucks and smoke before we leave. Since most of us are smokers..we all agreed. I was about done with my last stick when we saw Brian and Paul. They are exchangees from Rhode Island who reside just beside ATC. It was funny how we all worked that day and found ourselves bumping to each other inside a mall that's definitely not a stone's throw away from our office. It was a great day spent with friends over good food.

I am pretty sure we will do this again next payday..wonder where our next stop is though.. c',)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

VIENNA

Working for the travel industry for over 5 years I am used to creating itineraries and enclosing descriptions of the places included on the itinerary. One of the most requested places to visit is Vienna. Back then if you are to ask me how I would describe Vienna.. here is my answer:

Vienna is an ideal-typical European city similar to Barcelona, London, Milan, Paris or Rome, but unlike the others it is very compact and easy to negotiate. Vienna is referred to by many as a unique onion, with each of the urban layers surrounding the oldest historic center being equally important to the overall flavor of the city. The Austrian capital therefore embraces all the traditions of a European city, from Roman foundations through to Gothic, Baroque and Historicism. Tourists are eager to visit Vienna because of the city's exciting combination of the royal-imperial flair of the past with the latest trends, the responsible cultivation of a precious heritage and charming traditions. But much more than old buildings turn Vienna into a city of beauty: one also finds excellent museums, fine art collections and world-renowned works of art in the city. Vienna boasts 50 theaters, including three opera houses and two theaters staging musicals, 100 museums.

And the description can go on and on...

A couple of years later, VIENNA is more than just a place on itineraries. It no longer represents the Austrian capital. Now... it represents me. Don't be too quick to judge that I have gone nuts. While I was streaming for songs to download and add to my play list, I came across VIENNA..a song by Billy Joel. To be honest, his genre was way out of my league but then I decided to listen to the song for the heck of it.

Good decision. I started to Google the lyrics while the song was playing..and when I finally got the grasp of what the song was about...I was in tears. It was me written all over it. The song described exactly how I felt. It was like facing a mirror and describing how I see myself at that moment.

I was in my mid twenties and going through the "finding myself" drama. There were a lot of things going on in my life and I wanted to embrace everything... without realizing that I have only one brain..one body. I can only take so much. I was a hero without a cause. I felt like a workhorse.. my life has become a routine. It didn't feel right.

This song changed my perspective. Made me look into my life.. my priorities. What is important..

Here is my song...

VIENNA

Slow down you crazy child
You're so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you're so smart tell me why
Are you still so afraid?
Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out
You got so much to do and only
So many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through
When will you realize...Vienna waits for you

Slow down you're doing fine
You can't be everything you want to be
Before your time
Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight (tonight)
Too bad but it's the life you lead
You're so ahead of yourself
That you forgot what you need
Though you can see when you're wrong
You know you can't always see when you're right(you're right)

You got your passion you got your pride
But don't you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on but don't imagine they'll all come true
When will you realize
Vienna waits for you

Slow down you crazy child
Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while
It's alright you can afford to lose a day or two
When will you realize...
Vienna waits for you.

And you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through

Why don't you realize...Vienna waits for you
When will you realize...Vienna waits for you


Monday, April 13, 2009

The List

The Customer Care Center operations in the Philippines is growing! Before Q1 ended, the announcement was made on the expansion of different teams across the business. The Business Systems group would be needing new team members. In effect, new hires would come into play for the Consumer Team where the possible candidates for the BS team will be selected from. Also, rumor has it that a new team (ABS) will pilot its operations in the Phil. end of Q3. This is really good news! With the recession going on and a lot of people being laid off from work...ramp up on teams are indications that we are still in business.

Last week, 10 reps from the Consumer Team subject themselves to the "grueling" interview for the transition to the BS Team.

The panel of interviewers were composed of:
  • Advanced Business Systems Team Leader Kevin Duggan
  • Paul Grimes from the Enterprise Advanced Support Team
  • Senior Tech Support Engineer Jon Profeta
  • Business Solutions Team Leader Marivic Navarro
  • Business Solutions Team Leader John Luansing
There was a plethora of emotions evident on each of the applicants faces as they stepped out of the interview room. I wonder what was going through their minds at that moment. I had the chance to talk to the first "casualty" while were on our cancer break. He said he did try to answer the questions to the best he can but he knew he fell short. One of the reps candidly volunteered that the last time he felt so embarrassed was way back when he was 7yrs old. He did not anticipate he would feel the same embarrassment 23 years later. I felt bad for those who did not make it to "The List" but like I always say...its fair game. Who ever desires the opportunity the most, will find the guts to battle the challenge heads up.

Kudos to the new BS Transition trainees...

DENNIS "TYR" QUINIO
ERWIN FORTUNO
BERNARD JOHN "BJ" TAHIMIC
REINAN ANGCANAN
&
MARIA CARMELA "CAL" PARAISO


Your CONSUMER FAMILY is proud of you!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

A love that was..


How do you let go of someone you regard to as your life?


How do you stay away from a love that made you want to wake up each day..
and look forward to spending the rest of your life with?

How do you say no when all you wanted to say is yes.. no questions asked.

How do you turn your back from your greatest love?

It is hard. It is unimaginable. I did not want to make that painful decision. But I had to. I was left with no choice. To this day I swear I can still feel the pain. It crushed me to say goodbye to one great love.

After all the years that passed, I thought I have completely moved on. It was not until one of my office mate experienced the same tragedy. Memories slowly flashed back.. I felt the familiar pain. The longing..I have not completely let go.. the feeling was just buried in the deepest part of me. Suddenly I was reminiscing my life that was. The life that I lived to the fullest until the day I died.

It was an emotional death. I felt numb. I could not help the tears.. Mixed emotions filled me. Questions are overflowing. Why me? What did I do to deserve this? I have always been fair to everyone. I tried to be the best partner he could ever have. I fought for the relationship..sacrificed a whole lot to make both ends meet. Then it was four years down the drain. I saw my life crumbling right before my very eyes. Worse is, I could not do anything. I am not supposed to. He made a choice..he needs to father his child. Give his name to the unborn child. The same reason why I am letting go of my own happiness.

Life is not fair. We all have to go through bittersweet times. I am thankful for the lessons learned ...the priceless memories. The self realizations and discoveries within the way. I didn't know I can love someone so passionately. If I have to live my life over again...I'd still want to experience the love that was.


Saturday, April 11, 2009

Mayonnaise Jar and Beer

While scanning old emails, I came across this article sent by my friend Majal from Bacolod City. I thought this is blog worthy and definitely will give justice to the space it is given.

This is cute. Read on...

Mayonnaise Jar and Beer

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar........and the beer.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things -- your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions, God -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house,
your car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked," he said. "It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

Friday, April 10, 2009

Life is a theater...

I have been catching up on One-to-One coaching sessions with my reps. It has been a pretty slow day and I decided to scan through Envision (our Quality monitoring system) and randomly choosing calls to be evaluated for the coaching session. Just recently, 3 additional reps joined my team.. Joel, Alex and Fhlexy. I have touched base with the first two reps and scheduled my OTO with Fhlexy today. I chose the call tagged as April 09 Call 2, when I opened the recording...the screen capture showed an email from a former colleague who left the company a few months back. I know its unethical to read other people's stuff but I continued reading on. I thought I'd share this with whoever reads my posts c',)

here it goes...

"Life is a theater, invite your audience carefully"

Not everyone is spiritually healthy and mature enough to have a front row seat in our lives.

There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships, friendships, fellowships.

Observe the relationships around you.

Pay attention to:
Which ones lift and which ones lean?

Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?

Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are growing downhill?

When you leave certain people, do you feel better or worse?

Which ones always have drama or don't they really understand, know and appreciate you and the gift that lies within you?

When you seek growth, peace of mind, love and truth, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should move to the balcony of your life.

You cannot change the people around you but you can change the people you are around.

Ask God for godly wisdom and discernment and choose wisely the people who sit in the front row of your life.


This article made a lot of sense. It spoke to me in a way that I instantaneously found myself assessing my own theater. I do have a lot of audience I could say.. but few really gets front row seats.. Reassessing the scenario I had to swap people around to where their rightful place is.

I guess this goes hand in hand with the decision on choosing the people to trust. We often stick with people who turn out to be false friends and let go of well meaning strangers along our life's journey. At the end of the day, we are the master of the show. We call the shots. A decision made right or wrong affects the quality of the movie.. our life.

I am aiming for a blockbuster hit.. are you?

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

No Me Ames

It was during my tear jerky days when I fell in love with this song. I did not have any idea of what the lyrics meant but somehow it complemented the melancholic state that I was in..

There was something with the song that struck me. I would like to believe it was the melody of the song or was it the passion in Jeniffer Lopez' voice or the vulnerability of my emotions that lead me to listen to the song over and over again. I found solace in every moment that I lose myself in the song.

Take time to listen to it... I memorized the lyrics in Spanish mind you.

Dime por qué lloras

De felicidad
Y por qué te ahogas
Por la soledad
Di por qué me tomas, fuerte así,
mis manos, y tus pensamientos te van llevando

Yo te quiero tanto
Y por qué será
Loco testarudo, no lo dudes más,
aunque en el futuro haya un muro enorme,
yo no tengo miedo, quiero enamorarme.

No me ames, porque pienses que
parezco diferente
Tú no piensas que es lo justo,
ver pasar el tiempo juntos
No me ames, que comprendo,
la mentira que sería.
Si tu amor no merezco, no me ames,
mas quédate otro día

No me ames, porque estoy perdido,
porque cambié el mundo, porque es el
destino, porque no se puede, somos un espejo,
Y tú así serías lo que yo
de mí reflejo
No me ames, para estar muriendo,
dentro de una guerra llena de
arrepentimientos, no me ames para estar
en tierra, quiero alzar el
vuelo, con
tu gran amor por el azul del cielo


No sé qué decirte, esa es la verdad,
si la gente quiere, sabe lastimar
Tú y yo partiremos, ellos no se mueven,
pero en este cielo sola no me dejes

No me dejes, no me dejes, no me escuches,
si te digo "no me ames".
No me dejes, no desarmes,
mi corazón con ese "no me ames"
No me ames, te lo ruego, mi amargura, dèjame
Sabes bien, que no puedo, que es inútil,
que siempre te amaré

No me ames, pues te haré sufrir con este
corazòn que se llenó de mil inviernos
No me ames, para así olvidarte de tus días grises, quiero que me ames
sólo por amarme
No me ames, tú y yo volaremos,
uno con el otro y seguiremos siempre juntos
Este amor es como el sol que sale tras de la tormenta
Como dos cometas en la misma estella


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