Catching Up.

Today I received an email from an old friend. It was really nice being able to catch up on each others' lives.

I realize it's been a really long time since I last posted anything here. I don't really know if there's one thing that kept me from writing. It's more like a combination of things... work, the summer, laziness, lack of creativity...lol ewan ko ba, it seems like whenever I attempt to post, my mind goes somewhere else or I get caught up doing other things and I just never get back to it. So ayun, lack of posting for months is what resulted. So here it goes..

Sad to say, I've totally slacked off on reading as well. My parents lent me two books which they said they enjoyed reading and thought that I might enjoy them too. The books are currently lying on top of my dresser, untouched. Everyday, while I am getting dressed, I look at them and I tell myself, "Today I will start reading..." and then I go to work and come home and forget about it. Instead, I sit in front of my laptop and play games or watch TV. Really sad, isn't it? I've become one of those people consumed by their love of games.. not that anything's wrong with it. I just feel like I should probably be more balanced about my activities.. with no particular activity dominating all others to a point where I'm always doing just one thing. Sayang naman kasi ang brain cells ko. I think it's better for me to expose myself to other, more fruitful hobbies.

The summer is almost over. Meh! I always feel somewhat forlorn going into the fall and winter seasons. It just seems like a really long time until it's summer again. This summer, though, was extremely hot. We've been having temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and with the humidity, it feels even warmer. There were days when I just felt like sitting in the car all day where there's air conditioning. We don't have AC at home so it's been really uncomfortable with the extreme heat. Perhaps you're wondering why we don't have AC... we tried to buy a few units... but they didn't fit our windows so we had to return them. And so here we are.. stuck with our fans for now. We have AC at work but our CEO likes to keep it cooler than what's comfortable. It always feels like we're in the freezer. I've had to bring a scarf or a sweater with me at times just so I don't freeze at my desk. It makes it difficult deciding what to wear to work because it's very hot outside but it's extremely cold in the office.

This summer has also been a busy one for us - socially. We went jet boating at Niagara Falls, water rafting at the Ottawa River and went to Long Point Beach a few times. We also went to some picnics, BBQs, festivals and played tennis and beach volleyball. I'm not particularly good at sports but thankfully, my friends are patient enough to just let me play and enjoy myself. Steve always says, "it's not about winning, it's about having fun".

Work has been hectic, to my surprise. I usually find the summer months quiet with the exception of this year. It seemed like I had a mountain of work in front of me and I was climbing it slowly while pushing a wheel barrel. Not only was I training a lot, but an important member of our team had decided to leave the company and I had no choice but to take over her responsibilities. I'm just glad that most of the big work load's done and I can move on to other tasks. I've been so tired that there were days when I felt like no matter how much sleep I got, I was just as exhausted the next day. I literally felt like I needed to just do nothing but sleep for a week.

Steve and I were invited to two baby showers this past weekend..both on the same day. I gotta tell you, of all the days to have a baby shower, I don't know why they both had to be on the same day. As usual we found ourselves running around like maniacs, getting ready for both showers, picking up presents and preparing dishes and driving to and from places. We were already exhausted before we even arrived to the first shower. I don't know how we survived both on such little sleep. Although we were both beat, I have to say that we did enjoy them. Coincidentally, aside from the fact that they were on the same day, they were also both co-ed showers and were designed more to be BBQs. So Steve got to go with me to both. I don't know if he was necessarily thrilled about it but he went anyway. It was kinda funny how he discreetly excused himself from the room when it was time to open the presents. He casually sneaks out and heads over to the backyard to hang out with all the other husbands. I, on the other hand, look forward to this part of the shower. I love watching new mothers and mothers-to-be open each beautifully wrapped present to find out what cute little thing is waiting inside.

Let's hope the temperature's ease up soon... as I sit here typing, I'm practically melting.

Tough

It's the little things I accomplish that sometimes makes me the happiest. Yesterday, one of our technicians was off sick and so I had to "man the post" so to speak. I was a bit worried that I would either get an email or phone call with an issue that required something beyond what I could do or what I knew how to do. Buti nalang I only received 2 support calls and I was able to resolve both issues.

We have 3 new employees - a tech, a salesman and a receptionist. Sometimes I can't help but feel a bit stressed because I worry that they're not going to work out and I always feel terrible when someone's being let go. It really bothers me especially if I know the person is the bread winner of the family or if it's someone's who's older. There have a been a few instances where we've had to let go of people for various reasons and I felt really sorry for them (well, most of them.. there were a couple I was glad to see go). I'm just glad I'm not involved in any of these activities. I would hate to have to do the "firing"... I would hate to just be in the room when they do it especially when I've heard stories of some begging to be given another chance. I don't think I can handle it.

Our new tech reminds me of my dad. Something about his mannerism and the way he carries himself just makes me think of my dad. I don't work closely with him because the side of the company that I belong to isn't the same one that he belongs to so we really have nothing to do with each other. I also do not know how easy or difficult it is to learn the product that the other side of our company sells and supports. But I do know that he is struggling and I can't help but cringe everytime they give him a hard time. I honestly can't tell if he is the problem or if management and the other people on the team maybe have unreasonable expectations. Pero nakakaawa talaga. The other day his manager gave him such a hard time that I had to leave the room because I couldn't stand it. If he were my dad, I know there's no way I would stand for it. But anyway, I really hope he works out.

I know business is business... and that sometimes you have to make tough decisions for the sake of the success of the company. Pero that doesn't keep from feeling for others.

Just Tired.

Sometimes I am still taken aback by people’s inability to read and follow simple instructions. I begin to wonder if the person’s (a) just busy, (b) confused, (c) slow, or (d) inept.

I’ve had a rough day at work today. Come to think of it, I’ve been a bit unhappy at work lately. To be honest, I just feel unappreciated and taken for granted. It just feels like the longer I stay with the company, the more unhealthy it’s becoming. I love working with Steve – he’s great and he’s probably one of the few things I love about my job. Aside from the paycheque that pays the bills and helps us afford a few things, he’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed for as long as I have with the company I work for. But everything else that surrounds us is becoming more and more unbearable as time goes by. I don’t know if it’s because we’re getting busier by the day and everyone’s stressed out and have the tendency to take it out on others. I’d like to believe the when all the stress-inducing factors go away, people would be less edgy and there would be less tension around the office. But I know the problems go deeper than that. It seems like every day, Steve and I have to talk each other into staying on the job. We both know it makes sense to stay for now... but there are days when we’d love to just hand in our resignation papers and walk out the door. Sometimes when I am so frustrated, I daydream about winning the lottery and being so stinking wealthy that I wouldn’t have to take BS from anyone anymore. That lottery ticket would be the slap in the face I am dreaming of giving them.

On the other hand, I can’t help but also be grateful that I am employed... that we are both employed. I watch the news and read about the lives of those affected by the recession and I feel extremely guilty for even complaining about my circumstances. By their standards, I have no right to complain. And to be honest, at the end of the day, I think to myself that it is better to have a job that I somewhat hate but pays the bills than having no job and worrying about where the money is going to come from. Despite all my work-related frustrations, I do feel blessed to have what I’ve been given.

I guess I’m just venting. It’s almost midnight and I’m tired. I am thinking of the things I need to do tomorrow as soon as I get to work. I am thinking of the little spat I had with one of my managers. I am thinking of all the things I need to follow up on and trying to prioritize my tasks so that nothing false through the cracks. I am trying not to screw up. I am trying.

A Few Updates.

Back to work after the Labor Day weekend and I’m playing catch-up with my Farmville and my blog-reading. I’ve been so pre-occupied with playing Farmville that I haven’t posted anything new here since. My cousins have been talking about it so much that I decided to try it out. That probably wasn’t such a good idea because now I’m hooked on it and I can’t stop playing the darn thing. It’s the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I go on before jumping into bed at night. It’s absolutely ridiculous but I find it so entertaining. My brothers tease me for playing games that are somewhat childish but it’s these simple games that I love the most.

Work’s beginning to pick up so I’ve had a few hectic work days. Nothing too crazy although I was pretty frazzled one morning last week. I had run out of patience and it was phone call after phone call after phone call. I really should be used to it by now but I was just out of it that morning.

Steve and I went to Naigara Falls for the long weekend with his cousins. We stayed at a hotel with a water park so his nieces and nephews could play in the water. Steve was just as excited as the kids were. It was quite adorable actually. He couldn’t wait to pack and go. We forgot to bring toothpaste in the process. It was a good trip... we spend our Sunday afternoon at the water park then had dinner at a restaurant close-by. The next day, we had breakfast near the falls then headed to Buffalo to do some shopping. I’ve never been across the border so it was a new experience. We didn’t go around much and only stayed in Buffalo for a few hours. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (food was great and the cheesecake was just FABulous!) and we are definitely coming back for more.

The long weekend turned out to be expensive but we both had fun. Shopping in Buffalo is definitely something we’d have to do again. I didn’t take a lot of pictures... there wasn’t much to see where we went.

I’m already counting the days till the next long weekend.

A Case of Verbal Diarrhea

I feel so sleepy and I have a training session starting in half an hour. I am not looking forward to it at all. I knew it was a bad idea to go out for gyros at 10:30 pm last night but it was a last minute invitation from a bunch of friends to celebrate one of the guy’s big mile stone. So even though Steve and I were already getting ready for bed when we got the phone call, we decided to go anyway. I didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before either so all I feel like doing right now is jumping into bed and just sleeping.

Our CEO and his wife just had a baby – their firstborn – so Steve and I decided to get them a present. I had just finished wrapping it the other night, complete with ribbons and all, when I realized that I had actually wrapped the card with the present. So dumb of me. The plan was to leave the gift on his desk but since stupid me decided to wrap the gift with the card inside, now I have to personally hand him the gift and explain that the card is wrapped inside. Ugh!! I can only imagine what he is going to think of it. I can’t even wrap a present properly.

I am considering having a physical check-up one of these days. I suspect that I have low blood because I keep getting bruises, I am always tired and I get dizzy really easily. Every time I mention these symptoms to anyone, the response I often get is the “are you pregnant?” inquiry. I know I’m not but people always give me that quizzical, are-you-hiding-something-from-me look. Like I would hide that kind of happy news! Crazy!

Being a newly-wed, I always get asked “how’s married life?” and I always reply with either “It’s good, pretty much the same as when we were dating except we see each other all the time..” or “It’s okay... it’s good.” Let me tell you, apparently replying with the latter is not good. I think the expected reply is “It’s GREAT! I LOVE being Married!” where you proceed to jump up and down gleefully and clap your hands like an excited little girl. Hehehehe! Just kidding. Seriously though, I don’t know what people expect to hear but when I say that being married is okay and that it’s good, they look like they’re expecting more. But in Filipino, when someone asks, “kamusta ka naman?” and you answer with “okay naman” it’s usually a good thing. I guess when using the same expression in English where your reply is a mere “okay”, it’s worrisome. Truth is, I love being married. Yes, there are things that didn’t change from when we were dating and there are things that are new and require some getting used to and there are things that are worse and things that are better. But that’s married life.

The other question I get asked often is whether I like kids and if we’re going to have some. I love kids and yes I would love to have some. Then before I can continue, someone will interrupt and say, “I think you should wait before having them.... it’s a lot of responsibility... wait till you are ready, are stable, when you no longer want to party,...” yada yada yada... it always annoys me... just because I said that I love kids and would love to have some doesn’t necessarily mean I’m trying to get pregnant now. Sometimes I think it’s a trick question you know? It’s like there’s no safe way of answering it without getting some form of lecture or advice. I think next time, I will begin by saying, “We’re waiting to have kids for now but yes I would love to have one when we are ready...” The funny thing is, I know that the closer I get to thirty, the more pressure we’ll be getting to have kids. I’m telling you, you’re either too young to have them or you’re getting too old and you should be thinking of trying to have one. It’s like when you’re engaged and you hear people saying you’re too young to get married or when you’re not in a relationship and you hear people asking you why and then telling you that you’re getting older so you should be thinking of settling down soon. It’s as if you could will your future spouse to come at the right time when people feel you should get married. “Um, do you mind coming into my life when I’m 26 years old and then we can date for about 2 years and then we can marry by the time I’m 28 because that would just be perfect.”

Aaannnyyyhow, I’ve had mixed feelings about the weather lately. I’ve always said how big of a fan I am of warm weather and how I’d rather be hot than be freezing. But it’s been so humid and hot these past few days that it has made sleeping at night a bit uncomfortable. We don’t have airconditionig in our place so it does get really muggy really easily. As a suggestion (if anyone could actually suggest weather and temperature conditions), I would prefer to have hot days and cool nights. Not cold – just cool”er”. That way, it would make sleeping a bit more pleasant.

We were invited to a BBQ this weekend and have been asked to bring meatballs for at least 100 people. So we’re probably going to be spending our Saturday afternoon up to our elbows in ground beef, flour, eggs, mint, onions and breadcrumbs. I’ve never made 100 meatballs before so it should be quite an adventure. I hope we don’t show up for the event smelling like cooking oil!

Almost late

Toronto weather’s been nice lately. We’re finally getting temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius. We had to buy a fan because we don’t have airconditioning in our apartment. We slept so soundly last night that we both woke up extremely late this morning and had to rush to be able to make it to work on time. I had a sudden adrenaline rush when I saw the time on our bedside clock. I couldn’t believe that it said 7.43 on it. At first I thought, “that couldn’t be right…” so I woke Steve up and asked him if the time was right. He just nodded and said, “yeah…” and closed his eyes again. My next thought was sh*t we’re going to be late!! I think I may have heard the alarm go off earlier but I think I dozed right back to sleep and that’s probably why we both woke up so late. I hate waking up and realizing I’ve gone waaay past my “getting-up” time. It screws up my morning routine completely and I spend the next few minutes panicking and trying to organize my thoughts and figure out what I should do and the order I should do them so that I can be out the door right away without forgetting anything. Surprisingly, with all that mad dash to get to work on time, we actually arrived a few minutes earlier that we usually do. Oh the power of our adrenaline! Better than Red Bull I tell ya.

I overheard a colleague talking to our manager about his vacation time. He had just submitted his vacation request and they’re trying to figure out if the time he’s taking off is going to conflict with another colleague. I couldn’t help but feel envious. Dude, I want to go on vacation too! I know we just came back from our trip to Punta Cana 2 months ago but still…I feel like going back to the resort and spending a week or two there. It’s soooo nice just sitting on the beach with the sound of the waves nearby. I LOVE the beach and I was blessed to have been proposed to and wed at the beach. I can just imagine myself sitting on a lounge chair, sipping a cold beverage and just basking in all that sunlight. Maybe I should stop torturing myself by thinking of it too much. It makes it hard to concentrate at work.

Back to work!

Why me?

Our CEO approached me today to ask how QA is doing. I gave him a safe answer by saying that we were getting there. I never really get into details with him as it is never good to do so. Not that I am trying to be sneaky about anything. But he does tend to make a big fuss about unnecessary things and completely ignores the big issue at hand. So the safest bet in every situation is to give a safe answer and let the managers take care of the rest. It has always been the way to go within our company.

So anyhow, he asked me if it would be possible to have a meeting with him at some point to go over the QA process. He was curious as to how we do QA – what steps are involved, how we track and report issues, how do they get passed on to development... and so on. I told him I wouldn’t mind having the meeting with him and all he has to do is let me know when he wants to have it. I acted cool, calm and collected... just like how a good employee acts when in front of the big boss. But the truth is, as soon as he leaves, I freak out. I freak out because he really should be having this meeting with my supervisor who is the head of QA and not me. I freak out because I don’t know what his expectations are, what it is exactly he is looking for in terms of QA processes. Mostly I am freaking out because I don’t know what to do and I don’t know just how much information he is looking for and how much information my supervisor is comfortable with me giving (remember the whole keep the details away from him issue I mentioned earlier?).

My other boss (yes, I have multiple bosses because I’m special...hahahaha.. kidding! I have so many different tasks that span different departments so I end up having to report to more than one manager) told me to go ahead and just show him how it’s done. Easy for him to say because he doesn’t have to be in that meeting and he really isn’t involved in that part of my work. Eck! I am so anxious it’s making me sick.

I really hope I get a chance to speak to my supervisor first (she’s on vacation but should be back tomorrow) so that she can give me advice as to how best to go over the meeting with the CEO. Or better, have her spare me the trouble!

If worse comes to worse, I may just have to wing it and hope for the best. Totally not comforting.

Grumpy.

I’m having a really bad day at work. Not only did I have so many things to do today, but I also received a phone call from a really difficult client who almost single-handedly consumed what little remaining patience I had in me. I’ve had several back and forth emails and conversations with our development team regarding certain major issues within our application and because there is a bit of communication gap in the department, it has made it even more challenging to get a task done. To top it off, I am told that the pay raise we were promised isn’t exactly going to happen. Just what I needed to hear at the end of my work day.

I suddenly feel very tired and unmotivated. I would elaborate on why exactly it is that I feel so upset over the things I’ve mentioned but something’s are just better left off the internet.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely grateful I even have a job. But sometimes there are things that just drive me off the ledge.

Catching up.

I’m going to try to make up for the weeks I didn’t post a single entry.

I’m happy to report that I have caught up with all my tasks (of course as soon as I say this, I’m sure something will come up). That’s not to say that work hasn’t been a hectic (because it has and still is) but I’m coping with it as it goes along. We’ve lost a key member of our Development Team and although management has informed us of the adjustments that will be made, I still can’t help but worry about how this is going to affect myself and the company in the long run. I’ve been asked to move from my office to the Tech Area to assist with technical support and to guide the team in doing support more efficiently. I am still to do training in my office but my desk has been moved to the tech area. It sure sucks to not be in my own office anymore. Bleh!

The other day, while reading on the MSN website, I came across an article about Mexico’s plan to once again boost tourism since it had declined so much due to the Swine Flu outbreak. I wanted to link the article here but for some reason I couldn’t find it anymore (too bad). Apparently, the plan is to offer tourists travelling to Mexico free vacations for the next three years if they display Swine Flu symptoms within eight days of travelling to Mexico. Would you consider it? Three years of free vacations seems like a tempting offer but don’t forget that you’ll only get it if you actually contract Swine Flu during your visit. Although I enjoy going to all-inclusive resort, I personally don’t think I’d risk going there right now in the midst of the Swine Flu outbreak. Yes, it could all be under control and yes they could be doing intensive check-ups and taking all sorts of precaution but wouldn’t it be wise for us to not tempt it?

I’ve only been back for two weeks and I already feel like I need another vacation!

Listen please.

I have just gotten off the phone with 2 trainees. It was a 2-hour training session…the second half of the session I had done with them last week. I had been dreading this session since then and I have good reason to. The session I did with them last week left me frustrated, upset, tired and not to mention left me with a lovely take-away gift in the form of a massive headache. If there’s a training session that every trainer hates, this would be it.

A training session with only 2 trainees certainly couldn’t be THAT hard… right?

Let me tell you, regardless of how many people you have, whether it be a single person or more, when that person/s is not attentive, doesn’t listen and isn’t very sharp on top of it all… you can’t help but feel frustrated. Aba nakakapagod ata ang magsalita ng magsalita… it feels like I might as well face the wall and start talking. At least the wall will be quiet and won’t ask me questions about something I had just explained 3 seconds ago. You might say that I’m just being impatient and unaccommodating… but there is a difference between asking questions because you don’t understand and asking questions because you’re not paying attention. I don’t mind the first but I mind the latter…very much. Do it once, I will let it go. Do it over and over again and I will want to bite your head off.

If you’re in a training session… no matter how boring or uninteresting it may be, please remember to be respectful to the person talking. Teachers, trainers, speakers… or anyone talking to another person… I’m sure we all agree it’s nice to be listened to even at times when we don’t make sense… even if the other person’s just listening to be polite, that’s fine.

Don't feel like working today but I don't have a choice

It was so quiet in the office yesterday with it being a US holiday. It just proves that 99% of all phone calls and emails we receive come from the US. It was boring but nice at the same time. One of my managers and I were just playing games on MSN almost all afternoon!

The weather was so nice yesterday too. It was 25 degrees and it’s the type of weather where all you want to do is stay outside. If it weren’t a Monday, it would have been a perfect day to do things outside. All I could think of was how perfect it would be if we could go biking or swimming or just sit in a patio. Steve remarked on our way home that it didn’t feel like late afternoon and that it felt like it was still early. It’s so nice that the days are longer now and the sun doesn’t begin to set until past 8 pm. Believe me when I say it does wonders to a person’s mood.

The weather is back to crap today and I can’t believe how windy and cold it was this morning when I stepped out of the house. I was considering wearing a light jacket outside but changed my mind right before I left the house. Buti nalang I did.

Work is back to normal today and we’re back to the constant flow of emails, the constant stress we get from our CEO (just having him around is depressing) and the hustle and bustle of co-workers walking, talking, and working. In short, it’s been busy.

I have a training session this afternoon and I am hoping it will turn out ok. You never know with these people. Sometimes I get really fast-learners and other times I get those who are just almost impossible to teach. It is when I get the latter that I think about quitting.

I am addicted to the Jigsaw game on MSN. It’s all I want to do at work today (if only I could do nothing but play).

Bits & Pieces

Nakakatamad talaga magtrabaho this week.

I’m off on vacation beginning this Friday and all of next week and I’m itching for it already. I bet once Friday gets here, I’ll have mixed feelings about it. Of course I’ll be glad it’s already here but I know I’ll also be a bit sad knowing that it will go by quickly. I wish I didn’t have to work… that I were wealthy enough to not have to work.

Nakakainggit talaga ang mga mayayaman.

---------------------------

I got a pedicure yesterday. I haven’t had one for over a year and it looks so nice that I can’t help but look at it every now and then.

---------------------------

The cool (when I say cool I mean to say cold), cloudy weather is making me depressed. Where did all the sunshine go? It’s supposed to be 21 degrees today but I’m not feeling it!

---------------------------

When I was taking a shower this morning, I noticed that my tummy seemed flatter than usual and it made me happy. I suddenly started thinking of what I did different yesterday or in the last few days because maybe if I continue doing it, I’ll get my fabulous flat tummy back.

---------------------------

Dad gave me a copy of the pictures he took during the weekend but I haven’t had the chance to work on them. I have to re-size them to make them smaller so that it is easier to upload in an online album. My cousins and I all agreed that this would be the best way for all of us to share the pictures we all took during their stay in town.

---------------------------

I’m supposed to be doing QA again today but I’m just not in the mood for it. All I want to do is go home and sleep since I only got 5 hours of sleep last night and I feel really tired.

---------------------------

I started packing my bags for the trip but I couldn’t remember the weight allowance for the plane. I’m concerned that my luggage would exceed the weight allowance. I tend to over pack for trips because I am the type that thinks “What if I need this or what if we go there or what if this happens…” when I pack so I end up bringing things that I think I might need just in case something happens… plus, I like having options. If I’m staying at a place for 2 days, I will bring 3 or 4 days worth of clothes so I can choose which ones I would like to wear for the day. I typically dress based on the mood I’m in, where we are going or who I am going with. Steve, on the other hand, will bring only enough for the length of stay and doesn’t mind wearing the same clothes over and over again if needed. I figured the stuff that can’t fit in my bag can probably go in his.

---------------------------

I am glad that the office is quiet today but I am dreading my training sessions tomorrow. I don’t expect them to be easy so I’m a little anxious. Why is it that the day before I get off work always seems to be difficult?

---------------------------

I found a pair of big sunglasses at the Bay that surprisingly fits me well. Because I have such a small face, a nose that’s barely there and high cheek bones, I rarely find glasses that will fit me and look good on me at the same time. The irony, just when I’ve already spent $120 on a pair of Ralph Lauren sunglasses, I find a $20 beautiful sunglasses at the Bay. Retail is once again poking fun at me.

Driving me nuts.

• Being asked the same question over and over again by the same person. Dude, asking me 20x won’t make me give you a different answer!
  
  
• A tech asking me what to do and when I give him directions, he doesn’t do it. Next time, don’t ask if you’re just going to ignore my directions.
  
  
• Saying yes you understand when you really don’t. It doesn’t help either one of us when you lie to me. I won’t mind teaching you again if you tell me you don’t get it. I mind when you tell me you know and then ask me again later.
  
  
• When someone asks a simple question, give a simple answer. There is no need to use such extravagant words and phrases that people find difficult to understand. Giving confusing answers to an already confused monkey is just plain bananas in my opinion.
  
  
• Learn to be polite. Sometimes a little politeness can go a long way especially when you’re giving the client a piece of bad news. It’s not always what you say… it’s how you say it.
  
  
• When someone calls in for support and asks you for help, it’s just wrong to tell them to read the manual. ‘Nuff said.
  
  
• I don’t have the answers to everything and I’m not afraid to admit it. Just because I know how to use something doesn’t mean I know how it was made. Asking me how it was made, the intentions of why it was made that way and then giving me suggestions on how to make it better… yeah… I’m the wrong person to tell them to. Nope, can’t help you with that mister.
  
  
• Just because it doesn’t work the way you want it to, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not working. Ask first and complain later.
  
  
• If you’re not part of the solution, then don’t be part of the problem. Unless you have something important to contribute to the solution, keep your thoughts to yourself. Don’t cause us undue stress.
  
  
• I don’t like being given BS. You know it’s BS, I know it’s BS… let’s not waste our time here.

In Denial.

From: John Doe [mailto: johndoe@xxxmailxxx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:01 PM
To: xxxx_support@xxx.com
Subject: What’s up folks?

Server Application Unavailable

The web application you are attempting to access on this web server is currently unavailable. Please hit the "Refresh" button in your web browser to retry your request.

Administrator Note: An error message detailing the cause of this specific request failure can be found in the application event log of the web server. Please review this log entry to discover what caused this error to occur.

-----------------------------

From: XXX Tech
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:01 PM
To: johndoe@xxxmailxxx.com
Subject: RE: What’s up folks?

Hi John,

It appears that the site is up and running. I'm not sure exactly what caused this disruption but we apologize for any inconveninece this may have caused.

Best Regards,

XXX Tech

*****************************

I received the above email from Tech Support as I happen to be included in this group. I just had to laugh when I read the tech's reply. You see, there really was a problem which tech knew and they had to reboot the server to solve the issue. But the way tech put it, it seems as if everything was indeed fine and that it must have been a glitch of some sort.

Denial... we can only use this for so long.

Uwian na!

I made it! I’m still alive!

Oo na, exaggerating na naman ako. I was able to survive my training sessions today. Whew! Di naman sa mahirap… medyo challenging lang kasi pagod ako and wala sa mood magturo. Plus, dahil wala si Steve sa office (di pumasok kasi nga may sakit… kuno...shhhh.. fake na may sakit lang para makapag-sick day at di mabawasan ang vacation days nya) iba ang nagprepare ng lunch sa office at natagalan so by the time food was ready, I had to start training na kaya di na din ako nakakain until almost 3pm. Nakakadagdag din yun sa aking frustration. Aba, mahirap yata magtrabaho pag pagod at gutom. The mind cannot function with an empty tummy. Period.

Ang sarap talaga ng feeling magmalapit na mag-5pm sa office. Uwian na! Yehey!

Work-capades

We finally finished uploading those 10,000+ resumes in the client database. I can’t tell you enough how elated I was while uploading the last 6 resumes left on my list of 2400+. Of course the boss dropped a bombshell afterwards by telling me I had to go through each of the failed resumes on my list, try to modify them and re-upload. Shoot me. I was holding 4 pages of failed resumes in my hand and as she was telling me what to do, I instinctively took a glance at those 4 pages and I couldn’t help but be dismayed. Thankfully, most of the resumes on my list were corrupted files and I couldn’t do anything with them so at the end of the day, I just handed the list back to her so she could make a report and send it to the client. I ended up only staying for an extra half an hour at work which was good.

Today I have 2 training sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon which I am not too thrilled about. I hate training.

Steve called-in sick today which means I won’t be able to go to his office for a “pick-me-up” when I feel stressed or bored or annoyed or tired. It seems like it’s going to be a really long day. I miss him already.

I’ve been slouching at my desk a lot so this morning I adjusted my chair so that I am forced to sit straight to comfortably use my keyboard. I find it a bit uncomfortable at the moment because I’m so used to slouching but I’m sure with time, I will eventually adjust. It will be good for my back and hopefully prevent my tummy from bulging. Haha!

Great weather today. A bit chilly but sunny. Had to wear thick winter jacket outside but at least there’s no wind so it’s tolerable. I love looking up at the sun roof in my office. I don’t think it’s called a sun roof but I forgot what it’s called so I’m calling it as such. Sunshine is peeking through it and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me feel. It’s a glimpse of warmer weather ahead.

It’s lunch time and I’m starving. I hope we get lunch before my next training session begins.

Nakakainis.

Naiinis na naman ako.

Kasi naman eh… sino ba naman ang di maiirita sa taong tanong ng tanong na pareho naman parati ang tinatanong at pareho din naman parati ang sagot at kahit ilang beses mo ulitin, di pa rin natututo. Parang ang sarap deadmahin minsan. Kaya naman namumuti ang buhok ko lalo eh.

Alam ko minsan nagmumukha nakong suplada sa ibang ka-opisina ko. Pero di ko maiwasan di mainis lalo na kung sinusubukan ang pasensya ko. Di lang sa paulit-ulit ang tanong ha… yung pang tipong nagdidilly dally… yung ang sarap sabihan ng, “ano ba, get to the point nga…” hay buhay…

Minsan talaga di ko maintindihan ang ibang tao.

Work / Shorts / Deacon Joe

Still running resumes through our parsing tool today. I’m almost half-way through my pile. I apparently have approximately 2400+ resumes in my pile. I am drawing tiny little butterflies and trees and flowers in a piece of paper while making sure the resumes are going in properly and that I am noting down the ones that don’t go through.

Very boring but I’m not complaining too much because I’d really rather be doing this than training all day. This is a nice little break. I can even catch up with my posts while parsing. I just wish the emails and phone calls from clients would stop too.

For anyone who’s ever bought a pair of shorts, don’t you find them to be expensive? They cost almost just as much as a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts is probably less then half the amount of cloth they use for those pair of jeans. It’s an absolute rip-off! You’re almost better off cutting a pair of old jeans and making shorts out of them. I was so surprised at how much they cost! If I knew how to sew, I think I would try to make my own pair. Sheesh.

Deacon Joe attended mass yesterday. He’s a brother who was with our parish for the entire year last year and he’s a deacon now who is about to be ordained into the priesthood in a month or so. I’m going to say it and I know it sounds so wrong but he’s such a good-looking guy with a really great personality. I like his talks because he’s so funny and just so down-to-earth and I can really relate to what he’s saying. He’s so involved with the community and I often see him after mass talking to kids and the elderly. I have a tiny, teeny crush on him which my mom is very aware of and she constantly teases me when he’s present at mass. She keeps saying, “at least you lost him to God…” Hahahahaha. I have a tiny crush on him mom, that doesn’t mean I’m head over heels in-love with him. I can just appreciate the guy that’s all.

Anyhow, back to work I must go.

Not Fun.

We have this client who sent us more than 10,000 resumes which we then have to parse into their database. Normally, this is something that is done through a service we offer called Data Conversion but since the client is cheap and doesn’t want to pay for it, we offered to parse the resumes for them for a smaller fee.

One of our developers could have written a code that could do the resume parsing on its own but it would take our developer an estimated 3 days to write it and unfortunately it’s 3 days we can’t afford since we have a lot of deadlines for other clients and we need to have all resumes fully uploaded by next week in preparation for their training session.

So we are forced to parse them in ourselves in batches using our resume parsing tool but just to be on the safe side, we are parsing them 15 at a time per person and there’s about 4-5 of us doing it at the same time. Since some resumes aren’t in the proper format and some of them are corrupted, we have to keep track of the resumes that don’t parse in so that we can inform the client of it.

I had training from 9:30 this morning until 3 pm and now I’m just spending the remainder of my workday going through the resume list. The amount of resumes is no joke. It’s taking a long time to go through the list and having to watch it while it runs just so I can note down anything that fails is kinda boring. It’s an easy task in a sense that I pretty much just have to sit and watch it go and note down anything that fails but it’s making me drowsy.

I’ve had to do so many different things for this job including tasks that aren’t really part of my job description or tasks that aren’t my responsibility. It’s freakin’ ridiculous but I seem to get into these situations where I find myself just agreeing to do it even if I don’t necessarily want to. I don’t mind doing favors and going out of my way to help especially if it’s going to benefit everyone but sometimes the favors are just really annoying. It’s also my fault because I have a hard time saying no and being firm about it.

I’m barely making progress on my list of resumes. This is going to be fun.

Screwed.

Sh*t…

The report I had been building for a client, which took me forever to create had just encountered an error and I think it’s gone… completely gone!

I can feel a nasty headache beginning to form.

I hope I can salvage some part of it. I would absolutely hate to create it all over again from scratch. It took me so long to just add the fields I need and then have to specify criteria and after all that work, have it crash on me. Craptastic.

Pardon me folks, I just need to vent. This day is already starting to be a big pain in the ass.