The damsel in distress at work…

20 seconds…
I’ve wasted 20 precious paid moments of my life staring blankly at the monitor, and if not for my seatmate who repeatedly snapped his fingers in front of me just to catch my attention, maybe that time counter will still go on and on and on for God knows how long.


I don’t know… I’m not feeling sleepy… It’s just that… I’m… I’m lost somewhere… Deep in my thoughts, or maybe I must say, I am more lost inside my broken heart… What the heck! When did I start to be like this? When did I learn to mix my personal life with my work…? Maybe just yesterday… when everything about us started to mess up.


It’s never my style to get out of focused, or to think of something else while I’m at work.
Most of the time, I try to stop and cry for a while, compose myself and bounce back afterwards. But this time, I can’t figure out a way to keep my hands on one thing and forget about the rest just for the meantime. Why? I’m thinking about him! There is nothing more important to me than that. Or so I think.


I know it’s wrong…
As a team member, I am of course expected to uplift the spirit of my workmates, but how can I do that when I can’t even bring myself to sanity. As an employee, I’m expected to use my resources, especially my time for the company’s benefit, but I’m beginning to forget how to do that too.


I know this too shall pass… When would that be? I don’t really know. All I know is, I’m not okay and I have to live with it until such time that I can laugh and blab like nothing happened.

Birthday Party with Officemates! :))

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. *wink! :)

Okay, it's gonna be a long thank you message for my officemates.. so bear with me! :)

To my team Hapontukin,

thank you sa isang masayang birthday party para sa akin at sa kapwa ko mga september babies..

thank you sa pagpunta kahit parepareho tayong walang maayos na tulog. haha. :)

JESSA,

thank you sa balloons, at sa pagdecorate sa bahay namin, wala ka talagang katulad. ang kkuuullleeeet. haha. salamat sa pagudyok ng sample! sample! at batobatopek.. naubos natin yung pangalawang bote. ampf. XD

Cheeeeessyyy MaC!

thank you sa GIANT birthday card.. haha. natuwa talaga ako dun, anlaki eh. ahaha. pasensya na kung hindi ko kayo pinaglunch at hindi ko kayo pinatulog.. mabait ako eh, alam nyo naman yun. :P

ATE LEI!

wwweeehh.. sa aming official nurse cook! haha. salamat po sa pagbubusog sa aming lahat, yuuummm.. next time ulet. hala! haha. salamat sa mga medical advice, ngayon pati cooking advice pwede na rin humingi sayo. :D

BIJIN!

aaww.. sayang, di gumana yung cd.. di ka tuloy nakapagdance number, i mean, hindi tuloy tayo nakapagkaraoke. haha. benta talaga yung photographic memory mo, hindi tayo naligaw! haha. :) salamat sa pamblow ng balloons. haha.

Kabirthday ko, RAIN!

haha. yyiiikkeee.. haapppyy birthday satin. buti na lang, maaraw naman, para maiba, palagi na lang maulan pag birthday natin eh. ;)) thank you sa pagpunta, sabi ko na eh, di mo ako matitiis. :))

Future team lead, TEK!

hahaha.. kinabahan ako sayo, kala ko maliligaw ka na. haha. salamat din sa pagpunta, buti na lang hindi natuloy yung lakad mo.. hihi.. sinabotahe ko talaga yun, para makasama ka samin. haha.

singer/rapper JHOE!

ooohh yeah, may hidden talent ka talaga eh, ang galing galing! :)) salamat sa mga simpleng banat na palaging nakakapanggising samin..

Cartoonist, ArnArn.

THANK YOU.. keep on sleeping talaga. haha. :))yaan mo, walang problema dun. :D

Seatmate, BOWGZ!

haha. gisingin mo na lang ako pagnakakatulog na naman ako ah. haha. :)

Rakistang Hal!

haha. sayang dapat talaga tinugtugan mo kami ng isang malupet. ahe.. salamat sa paghatid sa kanila hanggang antiplolo.. haha. teka, hinatid mo ba? haha. :))

Intel Inside, ATE NERI!

haha. nakikiATE talaga ako. haha. :P salamat sa maagang pagcomment sa FB. haha. ang bilis eh. toinks. :D next time, party party o kaya bowling naman. :))

ALVIN,

sabi ni ate neri, hinintay ka kaya namin sa labas, hindi nga sila umuwi hanggang wala ka eh. hahah. XD

andayaaaa... hhmpf. pero okay lang yan.

sa hindi nakapunta..

ASH!

Next time sa inyo naman daw. haha. :)

kuya ARVIN!

wala nang spaghetti eh, sorry naman. :))BM na lang treat ko. haha. XD

ayan, natapos din. ahaha. thank you talaga guys. I love you all.. salamat sa tatlong linggo ng pagsasama sama. malapit na matapos training pero sana masundan pa to. :)

*cheeeeers to us!

To laugh hard is to risk appealing the fool..

It's just my third week at work but I guess, we're now beginning to risk showing everyone who we really are and how we wanted to be treated in our office. It's like slowly peeling down our defenses, our pretense, just so we can show our genuine self and be loved and respected for who we are.

TO LAUGH IS TO RISK APPEALING THE FOOl..

quoted from my favorite poem, Dare to Take a Risk..

Yes, I laugh hard, I sneeze, I yawn, I talk fast, I grin, and I giggle the way I want to, but I don't mind. I don't care if I would look naive or dumb, but I admit it when I don't know something, share my knowledge when I do, and accept criticism when it's due. In this way, my officemates will begin to personally know me, and love me and hate me but still accept me just the same. I am lucky to have them, to be excited to go to work because I know I will laugh away our working hours or maybe sleep and eat and yawn with them until it's time to flash our badge out of our building.

I'm afraid that I'm once again about to take one of the biggest risks in my life -- to love. But I love them, I love the absurdity of what we are doing, I love the variety of our age, our out of tune music jam, the praising songs when it's break time, and of course I love our brief walk on our way home.

I know these things will change sooner than I wanted, but I just want to relish this realization that indeed, God always surround me with so many awesome people and always use me as His vessel of blessings for those people around me..

SPI Shuttle Bloopers Part 1

This thing happened last week, I don't know what day because I don't even want to remember that embarrassing day, but for the fun of it, let me narrate that first incident of my being late, and the stupidity that followed...


I was literally brisk walking as soon as I got off that stupid jeepney who wanted to get every innocent people standing on the side walk as his passenger. I sighed, that was the very first time I believe I will time in past our schedule. I was furious, so I stommped my way to our company's shuttle..

Then I hold the knob, pulled it, got irritated because it didn't open and nobody from the other side had the kind heart to open it for me. So I tried again, and even pulled harder, then finally! Helluvah! It opened, I looked up to see a man holding the door.. and in my almost dazed state, I heard him say...

"Miss... HINDI PO ITO SHUTTLE NG SPI.."




So I let go of the door and watched as the man who slapped those words on my face slowly closed the door. Damn.. What was that? Is he joking? It's a white L300 Van! and it's parked where our service shuttle were supposed to be..


Then when I turned around, it hit me...


There was a queue behind me. and they are all wearing this smart casual attire almost the same as I do. Okay.. I got it..


thanks for a wonderful night..




End of the story?
I timed in at around 10:07 because it took me another minute or so before our most awaited shuttle arrived. Lucky..

that was the day I realized...
"if it's late.. it's me.."

Tax, Politics and being underpaid..

Underpaid.

I never thought this word can really sound so bad when you are actually the one working hard to earn your money but then it will suddenly puff out of nowhere. UNDERPAID. Such an awful word.

Actually this god forbidden word surfaced in one of our conversations on our break time, and suddenly it hit me, we are all aware that we are underpaid, and yet why the heck we accepted this job offer! haha. I guess it's about the charming HR who wooed us to this direction, but kidding aside, I guess, we are all just after for the experience since most of us are fresh grads, so here we are! welcome to the world!

In the middle of our discussion about our new job, someone blurted out, "okay na sana mababa ang sahod, wag lang mataas ang tax o masyadong mahal ang mga bilihin.." Of course, the rest of us exhaled our sigh of dismay.. "Asa!" But then again, who won't wish for a lower tax, right? But since we live here in the Philippines, where our taxes cover most of our country's expenses, some of our politician's living allowance, and a little for misaligned projects, of course we have to deal with "kaltax" as our trainor called it..

I guess there is no helping in discussing politics when we talk about salary, being underpaid, and of course, taxes. Our conversation even trailed as far as our presidential bets last May 2010 national election and why or why not PNOY should indeed be our president, or if there's somebody else to fit the position. But since we can do nothing about who won the election last May, I guess we can only work hard, pay our taxes, and pray to God so our politicians will spare our meager contributions for our country.

But I guess paying taxes is somehow a good thing. I actually even smiled at the thought that finally, I dropped in some peso on our "kaban ng bayan..." That those little amount actually marked my being part of the work force of our country, an asset and not anymore a liability..

"Let be your reward, equal to your hard work.." So one day, I hope I'll earn as much as I work hard, although I am perfectly aware that it's almost impossible.

*cheers!

Happy Wednesday!

My formula for a happy life? It's a long, deep sleep plus a simple I Love You from him when I wake up..


Hoho! :)
Since our trainor announced earlier that we will be having a lengty exam today, I really made sure that I will have enough sleep, so I slept for like 8 hours not even minding the hard rain pouring on our roof. But I guess what made me really happy was the news I got when I checked my mail. weeeehh.. Finally, the wait will be over! :)



Hmmm..
Also today, ETC showed the first episode of Glee with our very own Charice Pempenco.. I almost literally pushed myself out of our home, just so I won't be tempted to sit and watch the whole episode! haha. Too bad, I didn't catch our own star in her debut in the most popular series in the US nowadays. But there's youtube anyway, or maybe my brothers will once again download the whole series someday, so no worries. :))




happy wednesday!



*end note*

I timed in at exactly 9:54, a minute earlier than yesterday!
yehey! :))

Laid Back Tuesday!

Yes, it's a more laid back day here in the office. (Fortunately) Our trainor is having a meeting with the bosses, i guess, and we, the trainees, got our chance to sneak around and browse the web. Let's talk about a model employee in the making! :))

For the record, I timed in around 9:55 tonight. Can somebody give me a round of applause? haha. I made it just on time, not too early but at least not late. :))

What I also noticed about Tuesday is, of course, the less hassle on the street. It doesn't have the same busstle as Monday and has definitely less traffic jam than a wednesday, Baclaran Day. I know I'm not the only one who watch out for what day it is so you can calculate your travel time depending on how busy the road might be on that particular day. So I guess, if my observation is right, specially around here on our place, Tuesday is definitely THE DAY! :P

The queen is never late, everyone else is just too early..

That is a line from the movie "Princess' diary.." starring the ever beautiful Ann Hathaway. Oh yes, maybe everyone else is just too early, and I am not that late, oh well.. I timed in 13 minutes before our work sched but when I entered the training room, everyone else, including our trainor, was already around. oh, boy.. what's wrong with them? Why are they always early.. or is it just me? :))


Anyway..
I just came in from a weekend getaway in Bicol for the Peñafrancia Festival, and I really had a great time. Although I missed some of the more important activities, I can't be more happy to celebrate with my brothers and sisters and their family, and somehow rediscover the Bicolano tradition and culture.


Happy Fiesta bicolandia! :)

There is always a first time...

So good.

After I made this blog, the following day, I was late. That was my first time, though.. Tsk. Just to set things straight, I actually made this blog to track down my battle against being late, and that incident yesternight was really not part of it, so please omit. hoho. :)

What made me late?

1. Because my body aches so much.. raaaahh.. I can't believe that a 30 minute badminton game with my brother can give me this much aching especially on my thighs and my right arm. Tsk.. Darn Kuya Zan, he kept me running for the shuttle cock and made me do all the serve. hoho. :)

2. It's raining. Actually it was raining before I went out, but by the time I was out the road were all dried up. haha. Some of my officemates complained of being stuck somewhere because the rain was too heavy. But in my case? No rain. Just some drizzle. I guess that's the advantage of not going out too early.

3. I cooked. I cooked spaghetti for kuya's breakfast, fried tilapia for dinner, and 5 minute cake mug for nothing.

So I was late like 7 minutes, and this night I am really determined to make it up. And! It's Dress down friday so I am really a bit excited. Imagine the hassle of wearing slacks and almost business attire everyday! :)) Oh! Well..

One more thing! tomorrow after office, we will be heading to Naga for the Peñafrancia Festival. Yooohhooo.. Got to be my first time to ride on an airplane. yeeeehaaa.. :)

lalalalala..

-remember, if it's late.. it's me. :)

For One More Day

Okay, I finally got a copy of this book, but unfortunately, when I went home, it only took me 30 minutes to finish reading the rest of it. Naaahh.. I’m not that fast-reader, but Mitch Albom’s book hooked me right between the shelves of Powerbooks and when I started reading it, I couldn’t seem to put it down. But since I still got the nerve to stop and buy a copy of it instead of reading it free of charge, here I am, doing this blog. :)

For those who happened to readThe Five People You Meet in Heaven maybe you all know how Mitch Albom could make you wishful, or how he could make you have a closer look at how you spend your everyday life. This time, he did it again. This time, he hit me harder.

Maybe somehow I wanted to be like Chick Benetto, who had the chance to be with his departed Mom even For One More Day. Maybe, it will be a good break from all the screwing up I did since she left. Somehow, as I read through these pages, I can’t help but feel the same nostalgia that Chick felt when he saw his mom — the way she was, the smell of her cooking, the way she prepared the table, the way she made everything simple and sweet. I guess, like him, I’d be willing to embrace the insanity of having my mom back when I perfectly know she’s gone.

But then again, this book reminded me of how much my mother loved me in those short span of time we had together. This book reminded me of her words of wisdom, her comforting presence and strong motivation. It also reminded me the times she stood up for me, and the number of times I failed her. But most of all, it reminded me how motherly love never fails, always understands, is unwavering, and pure, and most of all — irreplaceable.

There are some kinds of love we took for granted while growing up. There are some things we always leave unnoticed. There are some moments that we just slip away never knowing if it would be our last. But I guess, our mother’s love is never one of them. A time with our mom or our family should never be our last priority. Because no matter how we much we wanted to be like Chick, who had the chance to talk to our dearly departed when life gets too tough, in life, there are no second chances, no guarantees, nothing permanent.

At the end, having a one more day with Chick’s Mom didn’t fix his everything. I would be very happy if he happened to get his wife back, or reconciled with his father. But no. He only got to be a loving father again to his daughter, and live another day to tell his story. I guess that’s also how crazy life could be. Sooner or later you will realize all your mistake but it’s too late to start all over again. But God is faithful, He still gives us a life ahead to learn more, and live a better life.