balik-school
i requested to be transferred to another department which handles mutual funds and brokerage, so now i'm studying for a pre-qualifying exam. i found myself memorizing and trying to understand stuff that i never thought i'd encounter at work - stocks, bonds, etc. so i guess this means i'm headed towards a career path in finance
na talaga.
i actually surprised myself because i'm excited to study again. i have 4 chapters to study - stocks, debt securities, investment banking and mutual funds.
aliw. after passing that, training will be 3 months, by that time we'll be studying 2 books for 2 licensure exams where i really have to do well coz there's money at stake (8,000 for the person who'll get top scores;
meron din for the 2nd and 3rd highest and additional 2k to our monthly salary) plus once i pass that i'll have license as a broker
sa states.
bongga for most people pero since this is not what i really wanted it's not that big a deal to me. i'm just in it for the job and the money.
but i still am contented... and kinda happy... well, happier than i've ever been for quite some time, so wish me luck guys.
The Best Compliment I Have Ever Received
"To Chryss...thanks for adding beauty to this place...and thanks for being a beautiful person inside and out...thanks din for listening to my stories and for sharing your stories as well... i would surely miss Heather...mamimiss ko ang mga dangling earrings mo at mamimiss ko ang girl na allergic sa manggas..take care girl!"This is from an officemate's farewell letter, sent a few days before she left the company. We weren't really that close, I just exchange stories with her every now and then, greet her with a beso every time i see her. And yet it's surprising how she was able to move me to tears (well, nearly moved me to tears) just by a few simple lines in her email. It's not that she said i was beautiful, frankly these days i don't normally care if i am (ask anyone who really knows me), it's just that nobody else ever told me i'm a beautiful person on the inside as well. It touches me to know that somebody who isn't even close to me can look past the surface and see something else underneath - something even some of my closest friends weren't able to do.
these are the people that we have to deal with...
...every single fucking day.
1. An AST customer was asked to send a copy of her defective diskettes. A few days later, a letter arrived from the customer along with photocopies of the floppies.
2. A Dell technician advised his customer to put his troubled floppy back in the drive and close the door. The customer asked the tech to hold on, and was heard putting the phone down, getting up and going across the room to close the door.
3. Another Dell customer called to say he couldn't get his computer to fax anything. After 40 minutes of trouble-shooting, the technician discovered the man was trying to fax a piece of paper by holding it in front of the monitor screen and hitting the "send" key.
4. Yet another Dell customer called to complain that his keyboard no longer worked. He had cleaned it by filling up his tub with soap and water and soaking the keyboard for a day, then removing all the keys and washing them individually.
5. A Dell technician received a call from a customer who was enraged because his computer had told him he was "bad and an invalid." The tech explained that the computer's "bad command" and "invalid" responses shouldn't be taken personally.
6. A confused caller to IBM was having troubles printing documents. He told the technician that the computer had said it "couldn't find printer." The user had even tried turning the computer screen to face the printer - but his computer still couldn't find it.
7. An exasperated caller to Dell Computer Tech Support couldn't get her new Dell Computer to turn on. After ensuring the computer was plugged in, the technician asked her what happened when she pushed the power button. Her response, "I pushed and pushed on this foot pedal and nothing happened." The "foot pedal" turned out ot be the mouse!
8. Another customer called Compaq tech support to say her brand-new computer wouldn't work. She said she unpacked the unit, plugged it in, and sat there for 20 minutes waiting for something to happen. When asked what happened when she pressed the power switch, she asked "What power switch?"
9. Another IBM customer had trouble installing software and rang for support. "I put in the first disk, and that was OK. It said to put in the second disk, and I had some problems with it, but I squeezed it in. When it said to put in the third disk - I just can't get it in at all!"
Portkeys
NissanSentra. Incredibles. MeteorGarden. TheFort. LaFayette2. BlueRidge. PinkHouses. SonyEricssonT610. ValleVerde. EastwoodCinemas. Beer. RetroShirts. TornPants. Coño-lookingPeople. Ateneo. Tapika. Katips. AcousticGuitars. BarbieAlmabis. StayByLisaLoeb. MarcAbaya. TheLittleMermaid. Foosball. MiniatureGolf. TheOC. RealityShows.
I have to forget him. I really have to.
May 19, 2003 - May 19, 2005
I remember crossing the street towards the Citibank building that night. I was wearing black, as if I was mourning. Up until now I can close my eyes and see the exact same vision I was seeing back then. I stared at the building, looked at the vertical and horizontal lines defined by fluorescent light, looked down at the envelope in my hands and thought, “I might be making one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”
2 years after, I look down on the same spot where I was standing beside the near-empty street that is Libis. What kind of person have I become? Am I better? Am I worse? I’m as much of a cynic now as I was then and essentially I’m still the same though the circumstances I’m in are different, but the circumstances dictated different courses of actions. Things will never be the same as they were before. When I handed them that contract I didn’t realize that I was also handing over my dreams and other opportunities that might lead me to living the life that I really wanted. When I signed those papers I didn’t know that it didn’t just bind me to a job, it also redirected my life. I used to look back at that incident with resentment and regret. If only I waited for a few more weeks... If only i wasn't too damn scared of not being able to find a job... but now, I'm thinking, what if this is really where I should be? I'm a mediocre writer, how can i possibly think that i can write for a living? I can't afford to go back to school to pursue law or interior design, why did i hold on to those dreams? what if maybe, just maybe, this is the best place for me to be?
I'm accepting my fate now, i made a move which would bind me further to the company for another year doing another thing which i never really saw myself doing, but i'm content. I'm seeing the situation clearly for the first time. I have duties, I have obligations; if this is the only way of fulfilling those then so be it. After two long grueling years I finally realized what I was mourning for that night – the death of an ambition.
