Never Forget A Name

Hey everyone! At last, it's my restday and I am now ready to blog my night away. haha. Anyways, I will share to you what I have read in a magazine. You know, I have this thing for fashion and educational magazines. I want to read those magazines that would give me tips and advises on how to organize my life and how to improve my overall personality... and I think of sharing this with you.

It's about how to be more of a people person and to how to gain more friends. This should be the things that we should remember when were being introduced to another person.


Shake hands.
Address the person you’re being introduced to by shaking their hand and saying their name out loud. Initiating contracts this way makes it easier to commit then name to memory.

Concentrate.
Pay attention when the person tells you his or her name. If you didn’t hear it well, ask him or her to repeat it. Looking at them speak creates a visual memory to attach to the name.

Repeat the name for retention.
Make a conscious effort to call the person by his or her name when talking to them. “Peter, what’s your opinion on this?” or “So, how was your vacation, Shella?”


I would need to memorize these three simple things by heart.

Counting My Blessings

I was'nt able to post any new entries for the past couple of weeks because my sister who just came home last December 20th with her hubby and daughter was the one using this computer. I am always using my laptop for browsing but my globe tatoo is just unbelievable. It takes about five minutes before I could pull up a page - the only thing I could pull up in a snap is Yahoo Messenger. Anyways, I am so happy that I was able to buy my small pink laptop. I intend to use it for blogging purposes and would serve as my memory bank especially when I am so tired from work and I can't force myself to get up my bed and post an entry through my desktop which is located at the living room. I purchased it for only 7 thousand pesos through an online store.

It's a the small ASUS EEPC 701 pink netbook that is so handy it could fit in my office handbag. I love it! I also was able to buy the MP5 player I've been dying to get but due to financial restrictions, it took me three months to purchase it. If not because of my 13th month pay and my SSS loan, I know I won't be able to buy these things which will serve as a Christmas gift for myself. Thank you Lord for all of these things and for financial blessings you've showered me before the end of 2009. To you be the glory Jesus and I hope and pray that the year 2010 would be a good year for all of us. Amen!

my small pink laptop, a Christmas present for myself...

this would be a constant blogging companion from now on

my 4GB MP5 player... this is also my constant companion at the sleeping quarters

thank you Lord for these gifts! Amen.

I Finally Got My Loan

After almost two months of going to and fro HR office to verify if my SSS Loan cheque has already been delivered… I finally got it today! Yahoo! After those eerie times I got mad and offended by the hr representative’s unprofessional remarks and unfriendly answer to my inquiries – I can now freely say I will never set my foot on their office again unless it’s deemed necessary. I am a type of person who would avoid conflict as much as I can. What’s strange is that just earlier today, I approached the hr representative asking her if they already got a cheque for me and surprisingly…she was very accommodating! That was the first time I saw her smile and she even throw a joke on me. She said I'm lucky to get a two month SSS Salary Loan . The conversation was very light and she even told me that I am lucky since SSS did not deduct a transaction fee from my loan. She gave a slight remark saying I need to give her “pasalubong” as I said I would be using the money for my vacation spree. She is soooo makapal as in. After treating me very badly before…she would ask for a "pasalubong" just because my loan has already been approved? If only she was kind and patient towards me before…I might give in to her request. I would be the one to initiate giving her a simple token of appreciation because of her help…but from what I’ve experienced with her??? NO WAY! I am just so happy that not only will I would have my own money saved in the bank in preparation for my retirement … we also got a start up capital for our business…most importantly, I won’t have to go to HR anymore . Thank you Lord for all of these blessings. I hope I could repay my SSS Salary Loan Call Center edition. I hope I could also be a blessing to others as well. Amen.

jokes jokes part 2

Agent : Thank you for calling us, this is Candy, how
may I help you?
Customer : What did you say your name was... Mandy?

Agent : No, sir, it's Candy.
Customer : Sorry, i can't hear ya... didja say Mandy?

Agent : It's Candy sir... Candy... as in Storck!

just sharing some of the call center jokes we hear on the floor. hahaha.

CALL CENTER JOKES 1

Agent from a local phone company entertaining a Visayan customer :
Customer : hillo! wala kasi yung bell ng pon namin??
Agent : Hindi naman po ba nabagsak yung phone?
Customer : Hende naman.
Agent : Kailan pa po ito nagsimula?
Customer : Ang alen?
Agent : Na hindi po nagri-ring yung phone?
Customer : Nagre-reng naman ah?!
Agent : Di ba sabi mo walang ring?
Customer : Hende! yong BELL ! yong lestahan nong babayaran namin!!
Agent : aahhh... yung BILL?!
yun na!

more of call center jokes here

I Hate Goodbyes...

It was indeed a sad day for me. Though I was permitted to go home early to day because of VGH (Voluntary Go Home) - I went home with a heavy heart knowing there's a possibility that I'll gonna lose a close friend at work soon. It's just so happen that a client barged her call yesterday and she was caught resetting a member's email password without proper verification procedure. I admit, I also often do that on my call especially if the caller was able to at least able to provide me some basic information other account information such as complete billing address and mode of dsl payment and though the security question was not answered correctly. I want to resolve the member's issue and if resetting a password is what it takes to have it resolved, I normally do the same. That's exactly the reason why when she said our coach told her that she committed a zt (zero tolerance) offense because of that, we were all shocked as we all are guilty of such offense, one way or the other. She said she was informed that there is a possibility of termination due to bridge of security and right there and then, we all felt threatened. Threatened the we might also end up like here and might also be caught off guard, but to be honest with you...that was not the strongest emotion I felt that time, it is fear. More than fear of losing my job, the fear of losing someone who is very dear to me. Though she has a different and distinct character which most of my teammates can't really get used to - I manage to befriend her and became one of my closest friends. She says what she feels and that's what I really like about her as she possess a character I want to have. I admit, I am most of the time a people pleaser and I normally do all that it takes to avoid an argument and I hate it! While my friend makes it a point that she was able to at least send the message of what she feels if she can't directly say it.

I really pray that she would be spared and would just be given a sanction of not more than 10 days suspension as she has been a constant performer. I hope they could take that consideration. I would love to spend the rest of my two year stay with the company with my girlfriends and I pray that the remaining days I have with them would be filled with only good memories....

SSS Salary Loan Application

For almost one and a half month now, I am still waiting for my SSS Salary Loan. I paid my remaining salary loan balance of P2500 just to have the chance to reapply for such loan again which we will be needing to put up a small business. I've passed all the necessary requirements to our HR group on October 1 and till now, I still don't have any clue if it has been approved or not. Okey lang sana kung accommodating yung HR namin kaso ang tatamad na - ang tataray pa! Sorry for my words pero sobrang pissed na talaga ako sa kanila to the point na ayaw ko nang ifollow up yung loan ko because I would need to transact with them again. They don't give out clear answers and they would really make it obvious to you that they are annoyed that you need to follow it up to them every week. One more thing that bothers me is that when I logged on to the SSS website, I saw that I am till not eligible to renew my loan because first, I still have a remaining balance for my previous loan which is more than P500 and second, I do have a temporary SSS number. As I told you earlier, I already paid in full. I personally went to SSS Pasig branch to pay for it and I still have the receipt for that. Second, why would they tag my SSS number as temporary when I already had the chance to avail of their salary loan before? So I hurriedly called their SSS Hotline, thank God I was able to get a working SSS number through a facebook forumn, and I was able to verify from their call center agent that my payment of P2500 is not yet seen in their database and that my SSS number is indeed just a temporary one. She told me to go to SSS Makati to show my payment receipt so they could update it immediately and to also present my birth certificate so they could verify my identity and so that they could give me a more permanent SSS number. It' really a pain in the ass. After waiting for almost a month now...those are the answers that I would get? And what's worse is that, I am the one who've found answers to my questions. I am worried for those people who do not have the resources and the knowledge to inquire about their application... their long wait will be put into vain. What if they don't have an internet access and a landline...how would they know the status of their loan application?

The representative told me that I first need to show my birth certificate and they will work on my temporary number (which would by the way take about two weeks) and only after they've given me a permanent number could I apply for a salary loan which would take about a month to process. I don't know if I would still push through with my application. It should've been for my hubby's small business and he is looking forward to it for the longest time now. I don't know if I would cry or would just be thankful that God did not allow me to get such loan as he knows our business won't succeed, maybe it's a sign. I don't know clearly what I would do. Will update you with what my decision will be on my next posts. I just need to vent out my bad feelings against my company's HR and the SSS process itself but I know that this too shall pass.

Halloween Galore

Hello guys! Happy Halloween to everyone! I don't know if I'll be happy that I don't have a shift tonight because today is All Saint's Day and since it's a special non-working holiday... everyone who works on this day should be receiving 30% more of their usual pay. Sayang! But it's okey...at least I could watch a horror film later. nyahaha! Actually, I am currently buffering one from www.asian-horror-movies.com. The title is Futago, a Hongkong horror film and though I really don't know the meaning of the title itself, I got curious because of the picture associated with it. I also have read a simple description of the movie plus the positive comments of the viewer on the site got me interested. Here's the picture I'm talking about and a brief description of the movie...is'nt it interesting???

The tenants of a seedy rooming house in Hong Kong think they're seeing a vengeful ghost when a strange girl arrives claiming to be the twin sister of a missing occupant.
The tenants begin to die one by one, and the detective investigating their apparent suicides discovers that whatever karma people give out comes back to them . .

Mga Dakilang Manggagawa

Hi everyone! I hope my readers are in good shape and is not greatly affected by typhoon Ondoy. If you happen to be a victim, I'm sorry for you loss but I pray you'll be able to fully recover from this tragedy soon. I pray that God would comft you and give you the desires of your heart very soon.

Fortunately for me and my family, we were spared of Ondoy's rage. Though my mom is living in Montalban Rizal which is one of the most greatly affected areas - our village is safe as it is situated on an almost vertically inclined hill. My dad who is living in Sta Mesa Manila was also spared as they are also living in a higher part of the area. Our house, located in Proj. 8 QC was also not affected. Maybe because we were situated inside a compound on a higher ground. The tropical storm Ondoy did not really made an adverse effect on our properties, in fact, I was able to manager to go to work Saturday night, the night when almost 80% of the whole Manila area was submerged in flood.

Only 3 of us - Sam, Ice and I - were present the night it all happened. Out of 11 people, only 3 of us was able to find courage to make sure we can still go on our shift. There were rumors early that night that the site would close down at 12 mn but that did not transpired. The company gave us 2 full meals as a thank you gift for showing up for work and for making an effort to go to the office. Here are some of our pics taken @ the office the night Ortigas became a ghost town due to Ondoy's flood.

sam- taga PATEROS, naligtas

MIMI - taga MUNOZ, ligtas at ICE - taga BINANGONAN, lubog na lahat ng daraanan sa tubig pumasok pa rin tsk tsk

walang pumasok, empty workstations...

lumabas kami para magpahangin...walang katao tao sa used to be crowded place sa tapat ng building...

uwian na! ice di alam kung pano uuwi kaya humihikbi...nakauwi naman daw sya sa Binangonan after 5 hours

Sam, Ice and I are very fortunate to make it to the office safely - but the rest of our teammates were really hit by the storm really hard. I just hope they could manage to go on with their lives and have enough drive to start again. There's indeed a higher purpose behind all this and though were not able to grasp the reason why it happened, I know in due time it will made known to us. To those people who did not experience such tragedy, there is a reason why we were spared by the storm. Most of the people I know were affected by the flood and I know that the Philippines would never be the same after Ondoy. It made us realize so many things that we took for granted for the longest time.

My Stress Relievers

Lately, me and my friends are discussing about how to relieve stress. My friend Ice finds happiness through "facebook". After our shift, she would normally log on to facebook through her celphone so she would still be updated by the latest chicka even she's on the bus on the way home. Another friend Melai, finds "tagged" enjoyable and never fails to log on to it and chat with her prospects. LOL. So I think to myself, what are the things that usually do after my shift which makes me forget about work and helps me relax? Haha! I think I have three in my list. Just recently, I again got into the habbit of reading books. Right after I changed clothes from my office attire to "pambahay" - I would normally lie down in bed and read a book for about an hour. Pampaantok lang. Right after that I would take a one hour nap. I normally go home at around 9 am so I'm usually awake at around 11 am. Lunch is usually served at 12 and while eating our lunch, we would normally watch my favorite telenovela "Miss No Good". Yup, after HOUSE series, we again are hooked up to koreanovela and this time, its a feel good one and watching Miss No Good would be the second in my stress reliever list. Lunch would be my bonding time with my hubby , you will always find us laughing and enjoying our lunch in front of the television while watching our favorite tv series. Right after lunch, around 12:30 pm...I would normally log on to my computer to work for my blogs. I work online as well so it would take about an hour and a half of my time. At around 2 PM, I with my hubby would have our Bible Reading right before I sleep. That would take the third slot of my list. Reading the bible, a verse or two everyday with my love one is the greatest stress reliever I have. Discussing God's word, talking to each other about what God wants us to do and just feeling God's presence is a great feeling. Makes me feel I am doing the right thing. We would normally ask God for what direction He wants us to take and ask for guidance so we could do whatever things that would please Him.

This is what I usually do during weekdays right after my shift. These things helps me keep my sanity in tact. Haha. How about you? How do you fight stress?

Balancing Work and Family

By: Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero

Importante sa buhay natin ang ating pamilya at trabaho. Sila ang nagbibigay sa atin ng dahilan upang tayo’y magsumikap sa ating gawain. Ngunit madalas, nahihirapan tayong balansehin ang dalawang aspetong itong ating buhay.

Work and family are often opposite forces: the difficulty of your work sometimes spreads into family life. At the same time, duties at home create problems in doing well at your job.

Balancing work and family roles can be tough. Sometimes you think there’s no other option but to serve both. Ngunit may mga pagkakataon kung saan hindi nagtutugma ang mga tungkulin natin. For instance, we may think of ways to increase our family’s finances during office hours – this affects our work productivity. It is important to remember that our family should be our motivation rather than a distraction. And, on the other hand, our job should provide the resources we need to support our family.

Attitudes and expectations are important in dealing with work-family issues. A lot of times, these form ideas about the way things should be done. Many of us have high expectations and we try to be perfect. But, even “supermen” or “superwomen” can burn out and become irritable. We need to understand that sometimes the more we want to be superheroes, the more our responsibilities are affected.

Setting priorities and effective time management is key in balancing work and family roles. Sometimes we do things right but we don’t do the right things. Minsan, hindi na tayo nakakapagplano ng mga gawain na makatutulong sa pag-abot ng ating mga pangarap.

The ability to quickly switch roles and knowing what it means to be in control are good talents to master. Many times we feel we have more control if we do everything ourselves. However, this can keep us from reaching our real goals; a lot of times, the best way to be effective is to let go of one role when you’re doing the other. This way you’ll be focused on whatever you’re doing.

Think about dividing work to accomplish your priorities. Let go of your superhero thinking and understand that no matter how much you try to do both things at the same time, you can never do it effectively.

Allocate time for both roles and know your boundaries – you might be allotting most of your time for your work but your relationship with your family is suffering. Balance things out and weigh your priorities.

Another Sad Farewell...

Hi everyone! Sorry I wasn’t able to post any new article here as I’ve been so busy with my full time work. Well, it’s been a sad week for me because one of my teammate/friend again bid farewell to the company. What’s sad is that its so sudden and nobody expected it to happen. My friend immediately gave her resignation letter and since she want it immediate, the day she passed the letter means that was also her last day in the office. It’s just so unfortunate that I was absent the day she had her last shift. It’s a coincidence that when my bestfriend resigned – I was also absent. Maybe God doesn’t want me to witness those things coz He knows how I value friendship so much... he knows I would cry a river seeing someone so dear leave. I know this thing did not happen in vain- there is a great purpose above all these. One thing I’ve learned from those is that you need to know your priorities. I know that though we are earning a lot through this job – there are still some things that we want to achieve and we don’t want to stay working in a call center for the rest of your lives, but we must also know the right strategy on how to achieve our personal goal. My friend just recently got a scholarship from TESDA to study foreign Language – specifically Japanese. Her boyfriend is working in Japan and she wants to know the language as a preparation for the future. But it’s just so happen that the school was in Taguig which is so far from where our office is located. The schedule was from 8 am to 12 nn and our shift was from 10pm to 7am. The travel time from the office to her school was tentatively 1 hour and from school. You could tell Dara was pressured, stressed and tired. The training will run for a month and it’s only been two weeks since the class started and I could tell Dara is falling apart. She needs to make some changes she needs to make a decision right away. She applied for LOA (leave of absence) for a whole month but our coach said if won’t be available till the end of August. It’s not feasible. I can tell that Dara is having a hard time. She told us that she is only getting 2 hours of sleep daily. She is most of the time irritable and lacks energy. Sometimes - when pressure is so high – call center people tend to do stupid things just to go with the flow… like releasing a call, listening to a conversation on the phone when you've already transferred the call or just doing some things on the phone just to avoid answering calls. Unfortunately that’s not the best option. I would not elaborate on this as this is not my story, I just posted this so that other call center professionals would learn from her mistake. The mistake that my friend committed was discovered by our coach and she was given an option either to resign immediately or be terminated. Of course, my friend took the first option though it would mean not being able to get a separation pay and other company perks. Lesson learned: if you need to do something, makes sure that it won't affect your work and if it would, make sure you know your priorities well. I hope my friend would be able to finish her Japanese Language Class soon and be able to fly to Japan to work. When God closes a door, he opens a window – and I know that there would be thousand of windows that would often for a pretty smart and lovable girl like my friend.