Work Cut Out

I thought July would be the only month where I would be busy. August came and I thought it would be the busiest month. September came and I said I feel I can relax. True enough, September was a breather. It was the silence before the plunge. I wasted it.

I was able to go on a vacation but it was just not enough. Fortunately, I have learned new things from the training I went through because July and August are not in the same league as October. It will not be in the same league as November. Work seems to be the primary force in my life. The good thing about it is, for me, work is fun and I strongly believe that despite the number of things needed to be accomplished, it is good for me and the people around me.

Indulge me as I rant through the reality of my the action items I need to accomplish at work.



1. Transition - I believe change is good. It creates an opportunity to flesh out new ideas. However, this is a first for me. The first to think how I can make it easier for everyone when new gears are in place. This creates sleepless nights and brain stress.

2. Theartics - I need to help out in a project involving theatrics. I was into theater when I was younger and had experiences. Though not full blown, the mere fact that I there is an expectation is just so fearful especially when in the end, after all the effort and hardwork, the outcome is not in your hand. It is in the taste of the people who will judge it.

3. Organizing - One of the activities I love doing but add this with the theatric stuff, it will take a toll. One of the main item I have to deliver is a video. Sounds easy, but with the marketing campaign being part of it, it sure is not easy.

4. Projects - Managing a group people with diverse personality, needs, and work attitude is a good excercise for the brain and the emotion. With three deliverables before end of year, it is surely going to be a hell of a ride. Projects are related to infrastructure for the unit, people, system, and process.

5. Initiative - Since a new year is in the horizon, we are gearing for the initiative planning. With things not yet in place at the top tier, we have to wait and see what are the important needs of the client before being able to create our own plans. Once they are done, performance measures and reward systems must be tied to it.

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2 Months Ago - The Picnic Experience

This is an overdue post. Our company picnic happened last June. However, I needed to process what transpired to recount it properly. The event transpired last May will not be topped as my "fave" experience. However, the consistent inconsistency of the people behind the production was just totally appalling you want to puke. (Though I did not, because the end portion was amazing.) I also do not want to put all the credit to the production team because they are not the only one who can ruin one event.

Here are the reasons why that picnic was all wrong. It started at the wrong foot.

1. Departure time was supposed to be 900 am. We left 30 minutes later.

Since the company outing is just a one-day affair, you want to be there early. There are only 11 of us from the team and only 7 rode the bus to Subic. Our team was complete before 900 am. The account riding the bus with us wanted to wait for one person. Imagine the nerve and logical thinking process, I really cannot understand why we have to wait for 30 minutes for one person. He wasn't even the President the company. He was a nobody. Well, he has friends with the account but who cares. We have an itinerary to follow. We wanted to go to many places Subic can offer so we really wanted to be there. We know the party would not start until 700 pm so there was a lot of time. Since we freaking left late, the itinerary became a plan without any fruition of becoming a reality.

At this point, tempers from our team is really running high and we were ready to go on a shouting match. Luckily, the marshal was the lady guard our team have a working relationship. She decided to leave without waiting for that one person. We arrived at Subic at around 130pm. 1 hour and a half late from the expected arrival time.

2. 7 in a room for some, 11 in a room and men and women are together

For some teams, this is okay. It is not a problem or they just don't think about it. However, if the room is a deluxe room and you fit 7 people with bags and other paraphernalia, this becomes a nightmare. One, 7 people will be using the bathroom. Each one has different time of actually using the bathroom. This becomes a logistics nightmare especially if you have an itinerary to follow. Girls tend to last longer in a bathroom and if you wants to sit on the throne it becomes a problem.

Two, sleeping arrangements is such a hassle. Some will be sleeping on the hard portion of the bed. That is such an inconvenience. Even if you claim a bed, people tend to forget especially if they become drunk. Imagine 4 of us on a queen size bed, 3 men and 1 woman was on the same bed. Fortunately, we do not have an issue since we are flatmates. Nevertheless, it is a bit weird from an outsider's perspective. I was even hoping that at least it was a villa type with multiple rooms. This one, I blame to poor hotel coordination.

3. Food not enough to satiate hunger

For any event, this is something people remember the most. If the food served was not good, no matter how amazing the program, the event still fails. In our case, the lucheon buffet was amazingly poor. Food portion is similar to what we see in movies, where nuns serve the homeless in a soup kitchen. I wonder, did the production team even checked the food portions when they got the said caterer? It was alarming because it has been ongoing since 2006. The food they served seems better if it was served ala carte. Actually, no. It would not even pass for any ala carte menu. I wish that the food was similar to the picture on the right.

From a tiring trip, a shitty room, you get shitty food. What's next? This does not end here. Our last experience totally made my top blew.

Our last stop, for me overall, was the most unpleasant experience.

4. The almost Zoobic Safari mishap

Since we are going to Subic, some my co-workers planned on spending time either on Zoobic Safari or Ocean Adventure. After arriving late and eating a lousy lunch and trying to cramp ourselves in the tiny room, we decided to go out and still do our itinerary. We decided to check the Safari. From the hotel, we made it to the marina where buses that will drive us to the Safari are situated.

After arriving at the marina, the first thing we did was ask when the next bus would leave. Tthe attendant from the production team, or I should say attendants, told us that the last bus left because the safari apparently closes at 5pm. It was 4pm then. I inquired why there was a communication gap. It was clearly stated that the last bus would leave at 530pm. This type of stupidity is really irksome. Stupid in the sense that, as part of the production team, you must know what happended. Second, you should have worked with the other vendors regarding their time. The reason we joined the picnic was to try out certain things and because of errors and lapses on communication. We travelled from the hotel to nowhere. At this time, I was already asking for their manager and point of contact with the support group that handles the picnic. All they can do was stare. It was frustrating that I almost grabbed something to throw at them.

Unfortunately, it was their lucky day. A bus that roams the area for potential Safari visitors passed by the area and we climbed so that we can go to our destination. The Safari was fun. We even have photos of tigers and more tigers. Since I do not want to bore you to death with tigers, I will not show it.

Overall, this experience ranks second as a shitty experience this year. I am sure there are more shitty thing to experience next year. What can more I expect from this support group? Ummm, nothing!

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35 Flights of Hell

I wanted to work in Makati when I heard that it is the Financial District of the country. For me, it was like the top-notch city with top-notch buildings. It gives me a sense of pride that makes me look like an air-head. I never thought that what I imagined will happen yesterday, May 29, 2008 at around 530 am. Nevertheless, it happened. I just walked 35 Flights from the 34th Floor of the building where the company I work for leases several floors to the ground floor.


It was a normal day. The elevators sucked. Lines were long as usual. However, you just grow accustomed to it. You rant about it but what can you do. It is still the same patron - tenant relationship where the patron (landlord), despite all shortcomings, acts high and mighty and lets the situation worsen before doing something about it. So, no matter how much we rant. We know that the situation will be the same for the next 100 years. To cut it short, the normal day become more normal. The power generator or whatever electrical equipment they have, failed or blew up (according to the rumor mill). So, we lost power to all elevators. It was around 430am when the first sign of power outages occurred. However, when the time to go home (I work in a call center and I was on a C shift), the power already failed. Imagine, generator sets not working to what it supposed to do. It cannot cover for the whole building. This is the part where I do not understand why they accepted a tenant when they know the tenant would consume electricity to the point that power load will be at maximum (an optimistic assumption). I guess money is everything. It will be huge on the bottom line. Apologies if I keep on digressing, I am just ranting as usual. Going back, around 530 am, me and two co-workers decided to eat before going home. We logged-out at the lobby to wait for the elevator. We heard this weird sound coming from the elevator and then it stopped. It seems that the elevators are not working because of low power. So the end of it, several people, agents included walked from the 34th floor to the ground floor. You might say that it is only the 33 floors (removing the 13th floor) but the building have a Mezzanine and a 6A. So, that is exactly 35 floors. Imagine the agony of my calf, thigh, and other leg muscles after that arduous walk down to liberty.


Until now, I cannot imagine why I was smiling when I was going down but now that the reality sunk in (my muscles are hurting big time and it is already 19 hours after the ordeal) I feel stupid. I keep imagining now what if it was the other way around. I need to climb 35 flights of hell. I shudder at the thought of it.


To the Administrators of the Building: FIX YOUR FORSAKEN POWER SUPPLY AND YOUR FORSAKEN ELEVATORS!

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