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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Billiard Online

My son loves playing ball like other little kids. Usually at the mall he always pull me to the amusement park to play "shoot the ball." It only cost one token for every play so its very affordable. One time while we were at the mall he saw a racing track that cost a fortune and its a good thing I saw a small billiard toy that only cost 100 pesos and of course being fond of balls he agreed to get that instead. By the way if you have a kid who loves playing billiard you can visit this website http://www.mofunzone.com/online_games/billiards.shtml, my son loves playing this.


Here is my son with his new toy.

A closer look to the billiard table.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

A Simple Story of True Love and Care...

This story was send to me thru email by one of my officemate. The story is quite long but its worth reading. It touched my heart and made my eye teary. Read the story and learn from it.

> > I was born in a secluded village on a mountain.
> > Day by day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil
> > with their backs towards the sky.
> >
> > I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me.
> > I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around
> > me seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from
> > my father's drawer. Father had discovered about the
> > stolen money right away.
> >
> > He made me and my younger brother kneel against the
> > wall as he held a bamboo stick in his hand.
> > "Who stole the money?" he asked.
> > I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us
> > admitted to the fault, so he said, "Fine, if nobody
> > wants to admit, you two should be beaten!"
> > He lifted up the bamboo stick.
> >
> > Suddenly, my younger brother gripped father's hand and
> > said," Dad, I was the one who did it!"
> > The long stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly.
> > Father was so angry that he kept on whipping my
> > brother until he lost his breath.
> > After that, he sat down on our stone bed and scolded
> > my brother, "You have learned to steal from your own
> > house now. What other embarrassing things will you be
> > possibly doing in the future? You should be beaten to
> > death, you shameless thief!"
> > That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His
> > body was full of wounds from the beating but he never
> > shed a single tear.
> >
> > In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out
> > loudly. My brother covered my mouth with his little
> > hand and said, " Sis, now don't cry anymore.
> > Everything has happened."
> > I still hate myself for not having enough courage to
> > admit what I did.
> >
> > Years gone by, but the incident still seemed like it
> > just happened yesterday.
> > I will never forget my brother's __expression when he
> > protected me.
> >
> > That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11
> > years old.
> > When my brother was in his last year of secondary
> > school, he was accepted in an upper
> > secondary school in the central. At the same time, I
> > was accepted into a university in the province.
> > That night, father squatted in the yard, smoking,
> > packet by packet.
> >
> > I could hear him ask my mother, "Both of our children,
> > they have good results? very good results?"
> > Mother wiped off her tears and sighed," What is the
> > use? How can we possibly finance both of them?"
> > At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front
> > of father and said,"Dad, I don't want to continue my
> > study anymore, I have read enough books."
> >
> > Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his
> > face.
> > "Why do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it
> > means I have to beg for money on the streets, I will
> > send you two to school until you have both finished
> > your study!"
> > And then, he started to knock on every house in the
> > village to borrow money.
> >
> > I stuck out my hand as gently as I can to my brother's
> > swollen face, and told him, "A boy has to continue his
> > study; If not, he will not be able to overcome this
> > poverty we are experiencing."
> >
> > I, on the other hand, had decided not to further my
> > study at the university.
> > Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my
> > brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out
> > clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of
> > the bed and left a note on my pillow; "Sis, getting
> > into a university is not easy. I will go find a job
> > and I will send money to you."
> > I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried
> > until I lost my voice.
> >
> > That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years
> > old.
> > With the money father borrowed from the whole village,
> > and the money my brother earned from carrying cement
> > on his back at a construction site,finally, I managed
> > to get to the third year of my study in the
> > university.
> >
> > One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate
> > came in and told me,"There's a villager waiting for
> > you outside!"
> > Why would there be a villager looking for me? I walked
> > out, and I saw my brother from afar. His whole body
> > was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked
> > him, "Why did you not tell my roommate that you are my
> > brother?"
> > He replied with a smile," Look at my appearance. What
> > will they think if they would know that I am your
> > brother? Won't they laugh at you?"
> > I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept
> > away dirt and dust from my brother's body. And told
> > him with a lump in my throat, " I don't care what
> > people would say! You are my brother no matter what
> > your appearance is?"
> >
> > >From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip. He
> > put it on my hair and said, "I saw all the girls in
> > town are wearing it. So, I think you should also have
> > one."
> > I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my
> > brother into my arms and cried.
> >
> > That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years
> > old.
> > I noticed that the broken window was repaired the
> > first time I brought my boyfriend home. The house was
> > scrubbed cleaned.
> > After my boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl
> > in front of my mother, "Mom, you didn't have to spend
> > so much time cleaning the house!" But she told me with
> > a smile," It was your brother who went home early to
> > clean the house. Didn't you see the wound on his hand?
> > He hurt his hand while he was replacing the window."
> > I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at his thin
> > face, I felt like there are hundreds of needle pricked
> > in my heart.
> >
> > I applied some ointment on his wound and put a bandag on
> > it, "Does it hurt? " I asked him.
> > "No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the
> > construction site, stones keep falling on my feet .
> > Even that could not stop me from working."
> > In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I turned my
> > back on him and tears rolled down my face.
> >
> > That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26 years
> > old.
> > After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times
> > my husband invited my parents to come and live with
> > us, but they didn't want.
> > They said, once they left the village,they wouldn't
> > know what to do.
> > My brother agreed with them. He said, "Sis, you just
> > take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care of
> > mom and dad here."
> >
> > My husband became the director of his factory. We
> > asked my brother to accept the offer of being the
> > manager in the maintenance department. But my brother
> > rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a
> > repairman instead for a start.
> > One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder
> > repairing a cable, when he got electrocuted, and was
> > sent to the hospital.
> > My husband and I visited him at the hospital. Looking
> > at the white gypsum on his leg, I grumbled, "Why did
> > you reject the offer of being a manager? Managers
> > won't do something dangerous like that. Now look at
> > you, You ar suffering a serious injury. Why didn't you
> > just listen to us?"
> >
> > With a serious __expression on his face, he defended
> > his decision, "Think of brother-in-law. He just
> > became the director, and I being uneducated, and would
> > become a manager, what kind of rumors would fly
> > around?"
> > My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I
> > said, "But you lack in education only because of me!"
> > "Why do you talk about the past?" he said and then he
> > held my hand.
> >
> > That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years
> > old.
> > My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer
> > girl from the village.
> > During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies
> > asked him, "Who is the one person you respect and love
> > the most?"
> > Without even taking a time to think, he answered," My
> > sister." He continued by telling a story I could not
> > even remember.
> >
> > "When I was in primary school, the school was in a
> > different village. Everyday, my sister and I would
> > walk for 2 hours to school and back home. One day, I
> > lost the other pair of my gloves. My sister gave me
> > one of hers.
> > She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When
> > we got home, her hands were trembling because of the
> > cold weather that she could not even hold her
> > chopsticks. >From that day on, I swore that as long as
> > I live, I would take care of my sister and will always
> > be good to her."
> > Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their
> > attention to me.
> > I found it hard to speak, "In my whole life, the one I
> > would like to thank most is my brother," And in this
> > happy occasion,in front of the crowd, tears were
> > rolling down my face again.
> >
> > Love and care for the one you love every single days
> > of your life. You may think what you did is just a
> > small deed, but to that someone, it may mean a lot.
> > Have a nice day everyone! May this story inspire you
> > in any way!
> >
> >

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Attacked by White Ants

I've mention that my mom was looking for a new bed.  The reason for this was her house was attacked again by these destructive white ants or "anay."  This is the 4th time it happened after living their for almost 10 years.  The damage this time is greater.  Before it only destroyed books and a little damage to our cabinet. Now it was able to penetrate to the wall and its on its way going to the ceiling.  "Mang Kards", the carpenter, says if it was not detected it can bring the whole ceiling down. AW! What a disaster.  If you look into a single termite it doesnt look that it is destructive.  But the problem was they always live by colony and their numbers was so many that it can bring a whole house down. 

This a picture of them that I got from the internet.

Mang Kards says to avoid these termites from coming back you must kill their nest and their queen. But what so amazing about the queen is that it can live up to 25years producing around 2000 eggs a day.  Wew! Its a good thing their so tiny. 

 
Picture of the Queen.

The queen lays 3 types of termite, a winged type, soldier and worker.  The winged type they soon will be a king or queen.  Soldier type protects the colony. The worker are the largest population who does the damage.  If your house is made of wood be aware of this destructive creature.  Usually you will notice their nest like a small tunnel of soil. 

DELL Speed

I've posted my stay in Etelecare and Convergys.  Let me tell you a little about Dell which was my company before I moved here at APC (American Power Conversion).  I can say that I was not happy with my stay in Convergys and really technical support is my passion.  That is why I stayed their for only 8 months and moved to Dell. Before I resigned in Eteletecare there was already a rumor that Dell will put up their business here.   When they published hiring I actually applied right away but since I was connected with Etelecare then they declined my application.  When another opportunity comes I applied again this time it was accepted since I was working with Convergys and they don't have an account with them. I thought I did not make it because I applied in February and I only got a response from them in April. And of course when they give me the Job Offer I did not think twice.  The salary is very competitive and I can say its an honor to work in Dell.  I've stayed there for almost 2 years. Actually I resigned 5 days before my 2nd year anniversary.  I was able to handle two accounts there. I was in consumer support for desktop for 1 year and got the promotion for DOC the next year.  I was part of batch 4 by the way.  Everything is going smooth.  The people, the environment , the incentives and bonuses.  I was able to gain friends and improve my personal and technical skills.   My first team was with Jonathan Guerrero.  He was a very good Team Leader and he really nourished me with a lot of teachings on how to be a good employee. I really learned a lot from him and I look up to him as well.  When I moved to Dell On Call (DOC), I got frustrated on the first month because of my stats.  I was part of Batch 1 and we were only 40 agents and guess what I was on the very bottom of the list when the stats was released on the first month.  It was a real challenge to me because before I move to DOC I was part of the top performers in consumer.  The real problem actually was DOC requires "selling", which I can say doesn't run in my blood.  During the first month our metrics was composed of 70% sales and 30% resolution.  Which afterward they change it to 50/50.  My Team Leader their was Joel Cueva who always encourages me that I can do it.  Joel was a very good leader as well, he showed me that he believes in me and he never lets me feel that I'm a looser which I thought I was during our first month on the account.  With Joel always encouraging me I was able to improve my selling capability and was able to cope up with the business.  By the way I'll never forget that Jonathan also coached me to improve my selling skills.  Though I'm already coping up there was still no fulfillment in selling for me.  I was given an offer by HP then but since the offer is not that good I declined it.  Selling is really part of DOC.  You will always hear the agents there asking, "how's your sales?", though there was no commission no matter how good you are in selling. Joel was moved to a different team and we were transferred to Jen Pascua.  Then I received an email from APC asking me to go their to take an exam.  They did saw my resume on jobstreet.  The company is in Cavite so I decided to give it a try.  I was able to pass and they offer me just a very little increase.  At first I was very hesitant to move but I guess God do have a plan for me and I accepted their offer.  I'm now with APC for more than 5 months.  What I really like is the schedule, since we support US business hours so our day off is always saturday and sunday.  Maybe I'll tell a litte story about APC in the future.  So far I'm doing good here and learning new stuff about Back UPS and Smart UPS. ^_^


Here is a pix of our team in DOC. I miss you guys and also Team Guerrero.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Stilt Men or Bwa bwa

Earlier this afternoon we went to the mall (SM Southmall) because my mom wants to buy a new bed.  I was very sleepy because I came straight from work but that's alright because its already weekend. While strolling, my son David, saw this tall man in front of Story Land.  He was very amazed because the size of the man was like double the height of a person, as you can see in the picture.  Like other kids he doesn't want to go near it. 

I was thinking during that time what do you call this tall guy.  I know they are mostly seen in carnivals or amusement parks but I really don't know how do you call them.  They look like a clown because they also have painting on their face but I guess they are not called clown. So after sleeping for about 4 hours I browse the web and search Mr. google. I found out that they are called stilt man, stilt walker or "bwa bwa."  Its really amazing how this guys was able to balance on a wooden wood for long hours. So next time we see them we can say , "Hey look there is a bwa bwa."
Here is a picture of my Husband and my son beside a bwa bwa with a pirate costume.

Friday, October 24, 2008

mY sTaY aT cOnveRgys

After working at Etelecare I moved to Alabang Converygs. At first I thought Im on a greener pasture but after my stay there I can say Im not. They offer a bit lower than my basic in Etelecare which is ok bec. its near my area. Unlike before I travel from Cavite to Libis which is really expensive. I cant imagine i was able to survive travelling back and forth everyday for almost 3hrs. I mean 3 hrs going to the office and going home maybe only 2hrs because there's no more traffic. As a tech support before we have an average call of 10-15 calls a day. In convergys i worked as a cust rep and we were getting an average of 50-80 calls a day. Wow!!!! (sakit sa ulo '_' ) We do have upselling which Im not good at. Imagine im only getting 1000 as my highest commission. There are some agents who were getting around 10-20k. (they're good slammer, twink!! joke lng po). I did not enjoy my job (cguro dhil mas lab ko p ring mging tech). Also I got disappointed during our regularization. Imagine they only give me an increase of P700!!!! and those agents who doesnt have experienced but have lower basic than me they give an increase of P2000!!! In short, after regularization we all have the same salary, nyah!! For me it doesnt makes sense giving higher basic for those with experience then after 6months your all going to have the same salary. Then when I check my SSS contribution online they did not pay my first two months of contribution. I tried to check my contribution while Im making this post but SSS online is under maintainance. One more thing when my baby got confined I encountered a problem with my Philhealth contribution. Its a long story but I went back and forth to the hospital and Convergys which at the end I paid the hospital first and reimbursed the money. These happened twice. There's really something wrong with their HR. I do have a team mate who got married and its almost one year and they havent updated her last name. One of my team mate too told me that when she give birth she was not able to get her SSS bec. she got tired of going to HR. We also have an employee referral program and my team mate who referred her sister was not able to get her reward. Its not really a good stay, ( Im not trying to give bad impression with Convergys here ), Im just sharing my experience. Anyway Im working now at DELL International Services and Im requesting for my W2 at Convergys and still I dont have it. (Whats new!). I have a team mate here at Dell from Convergys Makati and he was able to get his W2 right away. I dont know why?!! But I do love my team mates there in Convergys, Hello to Team Martrix! Right now Im enjoying my stay here at Dell. Merry Christmas to all.

mY eTeleCarE meMorieS


(Im so pretty here, hehehe)... I had a hard time looking for a job when I graduated.  All I can see in manila buletin were call centers as well as on the internet.  At that time I dont have any idea of what a call center is. What im thinking is that people working in a call center are "maarte", you know!  Then I decided to apply to a lot of call centers. (as in a LOT!). I applied in almost all of the call center in makati and ortigas.  After almost 1 yr of searching for a job finally I was hired at Etelecare as a TSR (technical support representative).  I find it cool and exciting. What makes it exciting is the SALARY! If you're going to work as an ordinary employee you're going to earn P8000-10000 a month.  But in a call center you can earn it for only one pay day and even more than that.  The people I met at Etelecare were nice people. I really missed them especially my first team AQUABOOGIE!!!! I get used to working at night and sleeping in the morning.  You're going home "ngarag-ngarag ka na", because of too much pressure kasalubong mo yung mga tao papasok ng office mga bagong ligo.  For me its fun and fulfilling to work in a call center.  Since I got it as a first job I have a hard time of shifting into a different carreer or even thinking of shifting into a different career.  But if given a chance, I would like to work in Accenture (or any big company) as a programmer (in my dreams).  I learned a lot in working in a call center.  I learned how to be independent, do multitasking, call dinner as "lunch" etc. I worked in Etelecare for 1yr and 5mo and Im very proud to be part of them, even for a short period of time.  I really like the friendly environment there.  If only Etelecare has a center in Alabang I would not transfer into a different center.  Now Im currently working as a CSR (customer service representative) in Convergys at Alabang which is nearer to my location.  I cant help but compare the two companies.  The first thing that I notice is that Convergys only have free mineral water and coffee unlike in Etelecare we have free mineral water, iced tea (some times juice), coffee and milo.  They have different method of training.  Im here at Convergys for a month now and maybe in the future Im going to post info about my stay here.