Fermina Express and Metro Manila Time Zones

every minute that walks by
is a                             distance I
bear with so much torment,
and if pain be so cliche' a
word to speak of my burden,
I shall cease to speak about
this hardship and be silent

                   a portrayal of my
silence when seve            red
from you.

Title: Trial
Date: c. 1997

Ok, finally had the chance to sit down before my computer without having to worry that tomorrow would be another working day and that I have to be on the bus by 6.30 am to avoid the mad rush and the traffic gridlock. Ironically, 10 am is officially the start of our working day but because i live in QC, I simply can't afford to wait until 8 am to get a bus. I don't want to be late! I rather be early and take a nap in the sleeping quarters than feel the time pressure. The funny thing is, sometime I get to board a bus that let's me experience a paradigm shift. Okay, let me explaine. You all know about buses here in the city, they take their sweet time before acknowledging the green/go light. I'm sure you get the idea. So, one morning, determined not to again experience the punishment of the mad rush, I followed my usual routine. I made sure I will get a bus by 6.30 am as usually I get to Makati at around 8.20. The time from then to 10 am, I usually spend smoking or reading training materials. 

Anyway, I saw a bus that I knew was somehow fast in transporting commuters in EDSA. Ok, it's Fermina Express. Or more popularly known as FermEx. Anyway, I got on the bus (forgot to get the bus number) and paid for my fare then quickly took a nap! Whoa! When I woke up, we were in Buendia at 7.38. By 7.45, I was in the office! 

That, by any means, is fast. Colleagues had a grand time listening to that story as it was really unusual. My line to them was,

 Galit sa pasahero ang driver. Ayaw magsakay sa EDSA at humarurot na lang ng takbo! 

But wait till they hear about my story last night. So, when we were waiting for our respective buses, I saw another FermEx bus and told my colleagues, "There's my bus!" and quickly said goodbye! Ayala was still crowded at 7.15 pm so, it was a slow start. It was standing room only so I had to wait until Guadalupe-Tulay to get a seat. When I did get a seat, I quickly went to sleep. Lo and behold! When I woke up, at 8.11, I was in Litex. I got home at 8.33.

I usually get home at 9.15 pm (leaving Makati at 7.15 pm). This time around,

Galit pa rin sa pasahero! Ngayon naman ayaw magbaba at umaarangkada na lang ng takbo!

There were several instances when the "kundoktor" had to shout at the driver that he should be stopping as they were to unload passengers. And one instance when he did stop, and had to be reminded that the door had to be opened.  

I had an idea, by the way, that I shared to my colleagues. Since most of us in the pioneer team of a start up call center lives outside of Makati (our soon to rise site will be in Cubao - can't wait for October!), I told them that I have an idea that I am working on to prevent tardiness in Makati offices. 

Since most employees in Makati corporations are residents of neighboring cities, to prevent tardiness, the different cities that EDSA crosses should have different time zones. Allow me to cite an example:  myself.

In my case, I have to leave Fairview no later than 6.30. I have to travel through EDSA by bus and that'll be a good 1 hour and 30 minutes. If I'm lucky to board a FermEx, that'll be 1 hour and 15 minutes. But don't forget that I'm doing so knowing that 10 am is my log in. You see the sacrifice there? In order not to be late, I have to be very early. Since it's terrible in EDSA at around 8. 

So to solve this, make Makati's time zone later by 2 hours. Pasig may be 1 hour and 30 minutes later than QC and so on for Mandaluyong etc. So, this would let me leave Fairview by 10 am and still reach Makati by 10 am!

Great idea? He he.

Rain Check

Track: Where Does the Time Go? By  Julia Fordham

they're all dead,
those beautiful women
of intellect,
they're all dead,
they chose life,
now they're dead.
they chose living,
now they're dead poets,
they chose death,
now they're dead.

Title: (untitled)
Date: c. 1996

Haven't had time updating my blog because of the recent move to another company. I am training in Makati and since I live in Fairview, I need to give myself no less than 2 hours of travel time by bus to Ayala Avenue, Makati. I get home at around 9.15. I give myself an hour before sleeping and the next day, at 5.30am, I am up again. Whew! I promise to update this more often as soon as I have settled in my production schedule! So miss blogging my heart out! 

I know I promised to write about my toys, my feelings leaving my previous company. Now I also have to write about my new colleagues!

Hoping for a "Stellar" growth….

Track: You Make Me So Very Happy by Blood, Sweat & Tears

in the beginning
man had only concept;
from his mind came
the shape of progress,
and progress was in
the shape of the vague;
then man said, "let
the vague be in the
form of warfare."
and warfare it was
to be, for warfare
it was intended to
be. Then man sensed that
something was missing,
it was getting lonely;
so man said, "let my
warfare have enemies,"
and took a bullet from
a barrel and shaped
it into his own image and
likeness.
        From the beginning
man had only concept,
from his mind came
the shape of progress,
and progress was in
the shape of what
the other possessed.

And they die quickly ever after.

Title: In the Beginning
Date: November 27, 1993, 12.47 am.

Finally got the chance to sit down and  write what's been happening lately. I finally resigned from work to join a start up company as a Team Manager. There are risks involved, I know, specially since I have been a victim of a call center that was doomed even before it started (I-Call, which was later bought by Epixtar). We are Wave 0 in my account - pioneer! So if this company ever grows to be a force to reckon with, the opportunity to advance is tremendous. 

The very process of choosing this new company is worth an entry here on my blog. And if you have time to spare, I surely have time to tell the story…

March I told my Team Leader I'm burnt out. I want a breather, I want to resign and probably find a new industry to join. I sent a resume to one company that also handles offshore calls for our program. I sent them an email telling them I'm still an agent and have been performing well and would they have a slot for me to fill in the manager position? They called me up, set me up for an interview and exam. Passed that and later was told to wait for a call for the final interview. Meanwhile, I told my Team Leader I wanted out!

She asked the Site Director, an American, to talk me out of it. He said, wait for two months and there might be an opening for a Team Manager position. In this company, a big call center that is really, really prestigious, you'd have to apply for a promotion and try to beat out ten or twenty aspirants. I agreed to stay since what the Site Director said about me flattered me no end..

He's the only one who ever had the guts to tell me I'm wrong.

Lesson, pay no heed to flattery! 

By April, there was an internal job posting for the position I have waited for. This will be my fourth attempt! Didn't make it. The Operations Manager who interviewed me at that time, newly promoted, was half-asleep! And the feedback I got was, "The agent was thinking in general terms." 

Nothing followed. Well.. weren't they guilty of that as well? They could've, at least, tried to be more specific. Anyway, as with my previous entries here, I transferred to the e-mail program for our account. There I met Miko and Shirley, Jennifer and Tippy! Great people and nice friends!  Tried to be happy there. And I was, since I met new friends. But I simply had to try to find ways to grow.

Around this time I found a blind ad for a Trainer for a Cubao-based call center. It said it was for a pioneer account. I sent my resume and within 24 hours, got an email inviting me for an interview. Problem is, the email is from the same company where I had a pending application for a Team Leader. I called them up, the recruitment specialist's name is Drew, and I told them, "I have a pending application for another position in your company. I have to regretfully withdraw my application." He said, "Ok." And I thought that was the end of it.

By June, I got a call from the same company again. (It gets better, so stick around!) I was walking down our street from work when I got a call on my mobile. It was for the trainer position again. Since I haven't heard from the same company with regard to my Team Leader position, I thought, well, might as well! I told them I can only make it on a Saturday and they said fine! I continued my walk home, smiling as this could actually be a start of something big. After 25 minutes, got a call from them again, same number. I thought, are they taking the invitation back?!?

It was for the same company but this time, it was finally for the original position I applied for. They had to ask me to take another battery of tests as it had been more than 3 months since I took the tests. I said no problem.  The only catch is I also said yes to the trainer position. I simply had to be honest with them and told them the truth. Jane, of Recruitment, asked me if I wanted to be a trainer or a supervisor. I told her I want to be in operations. 

"Okay, give me five minutes and I'm going to talk to them," then Jane said goodbye. After a full minute, got a call again from Jane saying it has been resolved already and I can come on Saturday, original schedule, but this time for the Team Lead position.

I passed that again, no sweat but after 5 days, I got a call and we just couldn't agree on the salary so I turned that down. This is Friday!

I just need to add here that my own company had another posting for a Team Leader Intern position. It's a promotion, alright, but it's a preparation for the Team Leader position. The Intern will handle 4-6 agents whereas Team Leaders handles about 20 agents. In my mind, I was just waiting for the first company to give me a push up the food chain! My new supervisor was in fact excited at the prospect of helping me out, again! Because while these were happening, I applied for a promotion again but was turned down!

The very next day, while watching a movie at SM Lipa with my partner, I got a call from them again and this time, for a Team Leader for a pioneer position. I told them what had transpired for the past few months and the lady at the other end of the line said, "It's ok, just tell Drew about this." The same Drew I called a few months back to say I'm, not interested! 

On Monday, July 30th, a day before the deadline for application for the Intern position, I talked to Drew. Cutting this short, I got the job! I liked the salary and while two months we need to be in Makati, as soon as the site is complete in Cubao, we'll  be Quezon City based. Next problem, how to resign without waiting for 30 days as first day in my new job is the following Tuesday. So when I got back to work the following day, my supervisor was surprised to see a resignation letter instead of a letter of intent for the Intern position.

My supervisor was supportive, yet very sad to let me go! I would like to believe that I served them well n my 20 months in that account; I never had a failing quality evaluation, never had a failing credit nor a dissatisfied customer in our Point of Service Evaluation! The Operations Manager talked to me and it was the same thing. He endorsed me to my former Operations Manager, she was asking me to stay for another two months! 

I told them I wish I can do that but in order for me to grow I had to make this very painful decision of leaving my friends. They endorsed me to the Senior Operations Manager, and although she said she won't try to "save" me, she did in fact drill down to me to not lose faith in the company. 

I told her, "I haven't lost faith in the company. But I just want to re-focus my faith on myself. If I don't do this, I might end up losing faith on myself!"

I made it clear to her that in February, when I had a chance to leave and pursue the other company, I agreed to stay as the Site Director had asked. I gave the company 5 months, in fact. Can't they just let me go immediately as I have given them enough time. She agreed and here I am.

Very happy and excited! Will tell you more on how I felt next time as the above is a linear recounting of the events! See you soon!

Big big change..

No poems today.. no music too…

Been a very hard week for me… a big change coming up.. I know I promised writing about my toys… but this change in my life.. hope it's something for the better.. 

Will tell you soon! 

Affirmation

STUPID!
STUPID!
STUPID!

Mama said.

i am,
i am,
i am,

Son thinks.

WHORE!
WHORE!
WHORE!

Papa said.

i am,
i am,
i am,

Daughter thinks.

Title: Missed Conception
Date: c. 1993

An old friend updated his Friendster blog today. As you know, when a friend in that social networking site updates his or her blog, a notice is sent to your email. I clicked on the link, and a new tab on my browser opened the blog. Although what caught my eye was a previous blog. You see, my friend is a Family Counselor in CEFAM (Center For Family Ministries) and just earned his Master degree at the Ateneo.

One entry on his blog had this paragraph:

"I have met many families in the three years that I have been in the program. I can no longer remember the names of the members of each family that I have counseled but I still have the lessons I have learned in my heart. My best case this semester may be my best case in my PD program. It was this family that realized that it is easier to complain and criticize members than to give words of affirmation. This has become my advocacy now - to speak more affirming words."  

And so I thought, wasn't that the whole thought of my poem way, way back! Don't get me wrong, I grew up under a very tender and loving family. I never heard any disparaging remarks from my parents nor my siblings (hmmm, that could be the reason I grew up conflicted - I couldn't blame anyone in the family for what or who I turned out to be*). 

The only thing I discovered belatedly was that I didn't know that a joke my Mom told me could leave an imprint in most of my growing up years. She said, although she denies this vehemently, that my grandfather, upon seeing me a few weeks after I was born, picked me up from the bed, and quipped, "This is an ugly kid." 

Trust me, the Tagalog equivalent is much too garish to say. But I took no offense at that time when my Mom recounted it. After all, I was just 11 I think at that time and my Mom was combing my hair in preparation for school.

In fairness to my Mom, she had to tell me that because she had a rejoinder right after the joke. "Your Lolo is mistaken!"

Anyway, things became different when I was in my adolescence. Of course, pimples, body odor, pants you just can't wear anymore because you've outgrown them (but had no choice as there simply is no new pair to replace it with), and a whole lot of changes in the body - unwelcome at it is as it was getting in the way of my playing Jedi action figures. Translate: I didn't want to grow up yet, but it was just too embarrassing to be seen playing action figures while making sound effects (imagine me doing an impression of Darth Vader's voice with this dialogue - indulge me please - :

Darth Vader: You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander, I'm here to put you back in schedule.

Commander: But what you're asking is impossible!

Darth Vader: Perhaps you can tell that to the Emperor when he gets here?)

But I digress.

So physically, I was growing old. My mind, however, refused to. So when I was 22 years old, I was actually 15 then. I was still playing plastic toy soldiers. Sometimes I would still play with the Jedi action figures when I'm thinking of a new plot, then had the plastic toy soldiers act it out. And they were such good actors. Would you believe, all of my 200+ pieces of Made in China toy soldiers or tau-tauhan as we call it then, had their own names!!! I christened each one of them!** (I miss them.)

Did you notice I digressed again? Well, I didn't.

Only when my life wasn't turning out right, this was my 23rd year on this colorful world did I think, "Hey, my grandfather was right after all! Pangit nga ako. Pangit na tao!" I concluded, my grandfather meant the whole thing!  My, he was holistic. And this is made worse when you hear relatives saying our grandfather was wise! No chance to appeal my case, then, huh? 

When I turned 31, I had entered the seminary - I had my noble reasons but I learned a couple of months after joining that man could have hidden reasons, too - I had the good fortune - no, I was blessed!! - to take a workshop entitled, "Healing you Inner Childhood."

There, I learned who I was and why I am! I have forgiven my grandfather, more so myself for "unknowingly" been putting the blame on my grandfather who  was never there! I mean, I made him to be there when he's long in peace! Funny because I had almost written a short story about a teen-ager who had a face to face encounter with his "supposedly" wise  grandfather, who's long been dead! 

So who am I now? I'll tell you in ten years.

So when you think about the quoted paragraph from my friend's blog, the words we say to each other can have a very lasting impact to the recipient. Ironic, physical wounds can heal over time, yet the hurt inflicted by the words we say can stay on for a very long time! And when it's remembered, recalled in the mind, that very long time is indeed an eternity for someone hurting. 

_________________

* Regrets, they say, is for poets. I've had mine but not that major. The statement above that said, "I couldn't blame anyone in the family for what or who I turned out to be" only shows that who ever I am today, it was because of my choice, or lack of it depending on who's looking at it, and that it was definitely my life to lead. I just don't want anyone to get the idea that I'm still in the fishbowl, under the watchful eye of the cat!

 ** I promise I'm going to write about my toys soon!

Wimbleydoom!!!

Track: Circle of Friends by Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians

i shall

drift
over the souls that
moved me and
instilled in me
nothing but yearning and
insecurities; i shall haunt them
countless times.

anger is not within me
greed was nothing like me; i
court depression, and i
attract those of no use to me.
over and over, i am
inspired by those
loveless idiots and
imbeciles.

Title: Untitled acrostic
Date: November 24, 1993 @ 11.20 pm

I'm not actually a tennis fan. I'm not into sports. The only foray I had in sports was in grade school when I became part of the soccer training team of San Beda. I lasted one school year simply because I didn't realize we were supposed to practice in summer, too. Natch! I could have been a great full-back! My brothers are all seasoned basketball players. My only interest in basketball is watching it with the hope of seeing a brawl - between teammates! You know, players from opposing teams getting into a brawl is old school. Why not two players from the same team slugging it out? That would be a hit!

Anyway, back to tennis. Last year, I learned who Roger Federer for tennis fanatics. I admired the guy and his humility. So when he lost to Rafael Nadal on the clay court, I got sad but was optimistic that on the grass, he'll bounce back. He did! I was happy. Happier still when I read in an interview this quote from Federer:

"He (Nadal) is a fantastic player and is going to be around for so much longer so I am happy with every one I get now before he takes them all."

The excitement builds up once again because here, you find someone so humble. In my excitement, I did something stupid. Well, I later found out it was a stupid thing to do because of the reaction of the person involved. I searched for the website of Philippine Tennis Association just to drop them an email asking them to bring in Federer, Nadal and Andy Roddick (yes, the ex of Mandy Moore). You know how fans are, they'll simply write to authorities thinking these people gives a hoot!

And this is what this blog entry is all about. I emailed them just so I can have my release. Others would have theirs in chocolate, some in Starbuck, still others in masturbation, or all of the above (not necessarily doing it in Starbucks), mine was to let someone know about how I feel. So I emailed, quote:

"I'm excited because my idol Roger Federer has won the championship again at Wimbledon. Don't you have plans of bringing him over for an exhibition game? Bring Rafael Nadal, too. And Andy Roddick.

Thanks.

It was an honest-to-goodness inquiry. I know it was a long shot, but hey, we're talking about a person who had applied for a promotion five times in a span of 19 months and failed every time. So odds don't bother me! 

Imagine my surprise when a couple of hours later,  I got a reply! My, I was excited. I know, they'd probably say that would be expensive, but thank you for taking the time to email us. Now, let me just refresh your memory, I work as a Customer Service Representative handling emails sent by customers to our client. Mostly it's disputes and I must say I have this knack of delivering bad news in a not so negative way. So email ethics is not something I am unfamiliar with. I was hoping they'd say, you know, very diplomatically, that they can't because that would be asking for the moon, but no! Here's what I got as a reply, verbatim:

"Fyi, bringing top-ranked tennis players like Federer, Nadal & Roddick entails enormous amount of budget even if it will only be for exhibition only. Their tight schedules which normally is prepared well ahead of time by their respective managers and/or private coaches/parents is also one factor which will make the proposal not feasible.

"Why not just try and go watch Grand Slam events like the US Open, French Open, Australian Open, etc ??? Tickets for these tournaments can be purchased thru their respective websites."

Regards,

Loxxx Mxxxxre
Administrative Assisant
Philippine Tennis Association

Ok, I just imagined middle aged administrative assistant laughing their assess off with my email. You know, office workers who, the moment they get to their desk, would kick their shoes under their table and start wearing slippers that should only be worn in the bedroom (imagine red fluffy slippers). Then re-touch their make-up and start gossiping with each other! (Ok, that's utterly unfair, they are not government office after all, but I simply imagined that the instant I finished the email!)  Anyway, I knew how expensive it is to bring international celebrities to Manila. I worked for an public relations firm a few years back and, well we never brought any celebrity here, heck!, we never produced an event at all! So my point is, if we who never produced an event find it expensive, imagine how much it would be if we actually did? (The joke got lost in the semantics, I know, so..)

I never thought they can just douse my enthusiasm like that. So I wrote back with:

"Thank you for your kind reply.

Although I am aware that bringing in top seeds like the three mentioned players entail a lot of money, it was more of a suggestion. After all, in the 80s, they were able to bring in top seed players to stage an exhibition game entitled Fire and Ice here in Manila. At that time, no one told tennis fans like us to buy ticket a ticket and watch their games somewhere else.

You totally missed the point, if I wanted to I can watch them in cable. It was more of hoping that PTA has plans of making public and accessible to Filipinos tennis court titans like Federer and Nadal. Obviously, your sarcasm got in the way of the whole point.

But thanks anyway, your reply by the way is now posted in the internet for the whole Filipino tennis fans to read. Nice job!

Ok, I was lying. I couldn't find a single Filipino forum where I can vent out my disappointment (not at the thought that they can't bring in Federer, but the way it was said in their reply).  So I posted it instead in my Friendster bulletin and here. Or maybe I'm this frustrated because as an email CSR, I'm used to replying with niceties and when I get a reply for an email at that kind of tone.. well, makes me feel convinced that customer service is something Filipinos can give to foreigners but not to the natives! (Hmmm, but if I make a bogus email, used a fictitious foreign name and inquired about the same thing, they'd state it in a very positive way, I bet!)

So there, I sent that reply. An hour after, I got another email from them! In big red, like 18 font size, all caps letters, it said:

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

 Poor girl…. she thought I was picking a fight! 

Yet another dream..

Track: Here Comes The Sun by George Harrison

Dare follow your dream,
Take flight and capture the scene.
Moments are fleeting and so are chances,
So seize this moment and dare follow your dream.
Lead the way and dictate the pace,
Take that step and start the chase.
Go and see, you are meant for bigger things,
So open up your heart, dare follow your dream.
Bring with you courage and strength,
Pay no heed to the journey's length.
Yet, forget not that aside from these, you need one more:
Remember Love, and only Love opens the door.

Title: Dare Follow Your Dream
Date: c 2001-02

The above poem was written for John David (Jhed) Manlises. He's dead. 5 years now. He was a young man when he left us. And that poem was written months before his demise. It was inspired by him. In fact, I remember telling him that I was so grateful for him. Because without him, I wouldn't have been able to bring myself out from a dry spell. You see, before this poem, it was a struggle for me to come up with verses and I was unemployed at that time. So it had been months since I had a decent article or verses strewn together to come up with a, well, poem.

It's but fitting that I find this poem as the intro for this post. I was rummaging through my old verses when I found this poem. I was intending to write about a recent development in the office that led me to dream once more, so I picked it for today's introduction, together with George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun." At the same time, I was having a YM chat with Elmer, Jhed's best friend (who after the burial had lived with Jhed's family since then), and were talking about prurient things (not ours, by the way) when I simply had to ask Jhed's death anniversary. He said, July 14. 

So now, the poem above has two significance for today's blog. Jhed and the, yet again, the nth time, never-say-die try for a promotion. A new section was created, the Transaction Monitoring Team. 12 Evaluators (TME), all promotion for mainbank's agents, and the Supervisor (TMS) position was opened last week. My teammates in Cyberesponse applied for the TME, I applied for TMS. 

It was weird as an email to my present supervisor said I lacked the necessary requirements. The Transaction Monitoring Coordinator said I failed a Quality Evaluation just last April (which means I'm not qualified). Yet 20 minutes after my supervisor received these emails, a got a text message from recruitment saying my interview was for the next day. And it was for an interview for TME. Then 20 minutes after that, an email came to my supervisor again, this time from another recruitment officer, saying I was lined up for TMS. Weird!

So then my interview came, I was asked by the Head of the Transaction Monitoring for our program, "Why apply for the Supervisor when there are slots for the Evaluators?'

My answer was calculated, I said: "I've been asked that many times. And my answer has always been the same: Why not?"

Whether he liked my Ms. U-type of answer or not, we'll know in two weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Where have all the flowers gone?

I'm going to break tradition and leave my own poetry behind for a while. I was just surfing through the web and thought of "Googling" Peter, Paul and Mary. The video here is the second video i watched on YouTube and well, I almost cried. Seeing them so old…

Yet so committed to their music and peace advocacy! And when the audience joined in on the singing, I just felt so, human and mortal.. And if you just listen to the words, it's all about the cycle of life, our mortality. And I thought, someday, I'll be old, too. And what will this generation think of my generation?

I still feel like crying when I watch this video. And led me to download 4 other versions did by different artists, namely, Joan Baez, The Mama's and the Papa's, Bruce Springsteen and would you believe, Earth, Wind & Fire. 

Touching Lives

I held your hand and suddenly I was warm
Clothed by the certainty of your touch, and
I forget who I was and only knew why I am.
And there were no questions anymore but only
A single knowing of what is to be at that moment -
I simply had to be in love.

Title: -
Date: February 15, 2003

 For 5 days, our PLDT was comatose. At first I thought it was because of the extension phone that my cousin himself hooked up to the main wall jack. But when the phone company's contractor technicians came for the service call, I later learned it was the main box itself. Main box? Whatever.

Anyway, what's funny is the experience we had just to get the truck roll. The problem started June 16. Since it was a weekend, there was a family gathering, I thought I should just spend time with my family and have it reported the next day, Sunday. I thought I'll just e-mail customer service as my DSL is a stand-alone SkyDSL. Convenient, come to think of it, when PLDT is acting up. I went to their website, found customer service's e-mail address, and hopefully, just like in my work, every e-mail has a service level and will receive the courtesy of being looked at and have a reply. 

Monday, Tuesday no reply. But as a precaution, since we don't have a phone line, I asked my sister to call 171 to report the issue. Not only that, on Sunday I asked a frequent-PLDT victim co-worker to call 171 and have my problems reported. We do that usually, whenever a cable is stolen in their area, which happens every two weeks, they'd lose phone service as well as myDSL. So when that happens to her, I call on her behalf. And you all know it costs to call 171.

On Tuesday my sister called them up and the rep said, it's already reported and we're lined up for a truck roll. My sister asked for the date. No date. We're just lined up. Now my co-worker is closely monitoring my case. As she learned that when you report an issue to PLDT they'll tell you that they need to do a test on their end to see what happened. That takes two freaking-effing days.  Only then will they issue a truck roll. So what if my issue is the wall jack? Naturally the test would turn out fine! 

Wednesday, Thursday, no word from PLDT. No reply to my e-mail (which is sad because when I was still in North Fairview, I applied for a Tele-tipid and one e-mail, I got my order number, took 24-48 hours, but that's normal I believe). Friday, I was frustrated. I'm on a fixed income and a breadwinner. When you're billed for something you're not using, the ATM comes to your mind and you imagine drawing money from your account only to throw it away to the trash bin. Because that's just what's happening. You're throwing money to the garbage having to pay monthly service you don't get to enjoy!

Friday night, I have had it. I scoured the net and looked for an e-mail address, any e-mail address of any top PLDT executive. I found one for a VP. He'll stay anonymous, but if you need it, message me! I told him the problem. Even went emo on him saying I'm a breadwinner and the only entertainment my mom has is GMA 7 and the phone to call my sisters and their respective kids.

Today is Sunday. My mom, who just dialed my sister's number, is sitting next to me excitedly telling her that a PLDT technician just came a-knocking to fix the phone!

What’s in a name?

Across the excess baggage
I found myself
mirrored in your image,
yet this reflection
is but a vague figure
of what I am,
more so, on what you
really are.
I put meaning on
your construed form
yet what I really
have is nothing
but what I really hope for,
and I have nothing
then.

Title: Noel X
Date: April 14, 1994, 3 am; written "somewhere in Luzon", on the road going to Cagayan.

Track: She Talks To Angels by the Black Crowes (Acoustic)

Ok, it's ironic that whenever our system, that means the system we use at work to look up and review customers' account, goes down, we at the Cyberesponse team have to take in calls. And for what?

To apologize. "I'm so sorry Mr. Jones, our system is currently having its regular system maintenance so I can't possibly pull up your account."

So there goes, we take calls to say sorry. Because we can't possible do anything without the customer's account. Ok that's a lie. I mean, if it's troubleshooting, sometimes we don't need their account in front of us. But seriously, when our system is down, then we can't do much with customers' question sent through e-mail just the same. So we take calls at least to free up more phone lines for customers.

So anyway, for three days now, as soon as 12.15 noon comes around, we go Inbound, receiving calls. While surfing the world wide web. (Side note: Did you know that the World Wide Web is the only phrase that has an abbreviation - www - that has more syllables and harder to say than the word abbreviated?)

And so I was entertained to know these:

My Elvish name is Elladan Minyatur.

Hobbit name is Fredegar Frumblefoot of Bywater

You can find out yours by going to http://www.chriswetherell.com/elf/

And then, there's my Smurf name. It's Evil Smurf, would you believe that?

 
The fun didn't stop there. I have a Mafia name. It's Bugs, The Brain Brasco. Not bad. At least it sounds like my ultimate idol, Johnny Depp's character in one of his films, Donnie Brasco.

I also have a superhero name. The Awesome Defender!! Nice. I'd like to think that's true. I'm awesome! He he! No really, we had a team meeting which was preceded by a group dynamics. We were to write the positive image of each other and one wrote I'm the group's defender!

Anyway, since everybody in the team were asking for theirs, I was so busy researching theirs that even my two supervisors pitched in and researched theirs and some of the teammates'. Then one teammate pitched in and gave us our porn name.

Mine was Nikki Jiggler!

Although if we follow the game that went around a few years back, it would be different. Here's how the game is played. Your porn's first name would be the name of your first pet. The last name would be the name of the street where you were born or grew up.

So what's my original porn name?

ELVIS QUIJOTE.

Any mental image there? A mustachioed 30something, well endowed, sweats a lot during a sex scene. And oh, it's the 80s porn, so right up the alley of Randy West and films like Debby Does Dallas and the like.

Not a nice picture there. Did it turn you on? Nah!

—-

Know your Smurf, Mafia, dating names at quizopolis.com