Saturday, November 29, 2008

my son

Today is Sunday, a perfect day to spend time with your family. After a very tiresome week and working endlessly, we deserve to take a break. The week has been really busy for me, going to work at 9pm and leaving the office at around 11 to 11:30am. Don't get me wrong. I do not work for more than 12 hours, that's against our labor code. I don't go on double shifts neither. I love my job but I'm not workaholic. Shift really starts at 9pm for me, having to work for a call center. I'm just the average employee who works for 8 hours plus an hour of lunch and two 15-minute coffee breaks. Time is just different from a regular office employee. I stay at the office late not because I have to finish loads of work. I stay at the office even hours after my shift to wait for my husband. We work for the same company and his shift starts during the wee hours of the morning. Now, you may think that I wait for my husband to keep an aye on him, to make sure that he doesn't have girls...Heck, NO!! You might even think that I'm playing the martyr's role...uh-huh!! Since we only have one car and due to the economic crisis, our set up is to wait for each other rather than having one commute and the other one using the car. Miguel, my hubby, would go to work at least 5 hours early his shift and I will stay 5 hours late to wait for him, get the picture? Honestly, this arrangement saves us big time, we only spend less than a hundred pesos on gas going back and forth the office, and if we commute, we'll spend more than a hundred bucks. We are also cutting cost on the electricity. Since we're at work, we don't use the aircon at home too much, we don't use other electric appliances. We have a sleeping lounge at the office so Miguel just sleeps at the office before his shift starts and I sleep (sometimes) at the office while killing time and waiting for him.


So that makes me busy the entire week? Since we have Josh, our son, we only get to see him during our rest days. We leave him to our nursing home, courtesy of my loving parents ofcourse since we don't have a maid. So whenever we are with josh, we make sure that we spend it as splendidly as possible. On your left is my Joshua, my 3-year old son whom we love so much. As much as we really love to be with him 24/7, we have to work hard for his future. This boy is so sweet. At a very young age, he makes sure that he says I love you. He can't talk much yet, but you can see how smart he is. I admit, he's sometimes a pain in the neck for being so obnoxious. He will throw anything he can get his hands on, scatter his toys everywhere and break vases, etc. He's not afraid of me so whenever I scold, he finds it funny and would tease me even more. But wait till he sees his dad! He'll hide under the table because he knows he's in trouble big time. He probably got that attitude from his dad. Joshua is so friendly that he says hi to every people who passes by. He even will say hi to fish vendors and post men. But since he's an only child, he loves attention so much that when he notices that our attention will divert to someone else, he goes ballistic. But for me he's such an angel specially when he's sleeping soundly. He looks like me, right?
Well, can't wait to see Josh later. We'll probably go to the mall, eat, then go home. Anyway, I still have two more nights to put my son to sleep. I'll go back to work on Tuesday. I have Sundays and Mondays as rest days. Then Miguel have Wednesdays and Thursdays off, so we will bring our Joshua back to his nursing home on Thursday night. That's how our family life is.

♥♥♥simply mhei♥♥♥

Sunday, November 23, 2008

My Christmas WISH LIST

Well..to date, it's 31 days before Christmas Day. I'm sure a lot of people are already preparing for the yuletide season. Malls are certainly jam-packed with excited men and women trying to outwit each other getting the best deals on every boutique. Christmas lanterns and lights are everywhere...Christmas songs are playing on practically all radio stations...Even snatchers and kidnappers are out in every corner.

You know what the best part is? CHRISTMAS BONUS!! I really can't wait to get my bonus or what we call here in the Philippines as thirteenth month pay. Why do you think it's called so anyway? When we only have twelve months in a year? And why are there some companies who gives 14th month pay and even 15th month pay? Well, no matter what the reason is, so long as I get it, so long as I'll have bonus, who cares about knowing why it's called such. Hahaha!

And because I am uber excited to get my bonus, I don't know how will I spend it. It is not as big as you think but at least it's something to look forward to. You can't get it just by sitting or staring at nothing. I have a long list of Christmas wishes! Below are on top of the list:

1. A brand new cell phone. I was just flipping through some magazines last week and I saw this ultimate phone-Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1. It's one of the latest mobile phones created by Sony Ericsson. Touch screen like my phone(Ericsson W960i), windows mobile...well, it has a lot of great features.. I really love it!
2. Digital camera. Well, I don't have one yet. Since I LOVE taking pictures, it will really make me happy if I will be able to buy a digicam.
3. Perfume set. I love collecting perfumes of different scents. Of course I'll look stupid if I buy same scents, do I? I like those perfume sets, those with lotions and shower gels. I checked this place in Festival Mall that sells a variety of perfume sets at very reasonable prices. I wanna get my hands on all the perfumes and colognes they are selling because the prices are really cheaper than mall prices. Oh, well...
4. A pair or two of platform sandals. I saw a nice-looking wedgy shoes @ People are People but it cost a fortune. Not really...but for me it's not something I would buy on a regular day. Then I'll check the rest of the shoe stores and check the deals. Well, friends, if you want to buy me a pair of wedge killer shoes, pictures are on your left, size 6, hahahaha!!
5. A dozen of flip flops. I just love the designs of Havaianas, very comfy too!! I already have a lot that I can already put up a havaianas boutique at home. Well, I can't help it...I love collecting 'em. I just can't wear it at work anymore because of the dress code..but I sometimes try to cheat and only wear heeled shoes when the boss is around. Hahaha! Even if you wear those cute flip flops everyday, I swear these slippers won't look old.

I sound sooo selfish...Of course, I also wish to get my son and my husband a few things:

FOR MIGUEL (MY HONEY)

1. A brand new cell phone too. Well, not as pricey as mine. Hahaha. I just bought him a cell phone last summer when he left his Sony Ericsson W850i in the computer lounge @ the office, but for some reasons, the lcd got busted. I know he'll settle for something not as posh as my ultimate dream (after my Sony Ericsson W960i) since he's more of splurging his hard earned money on our car.
2. Half dozen of flipflops. I know, I said mine has to be a dozen and his should only be half of what I should have... It doesn't sound too selfish, right?
3. Oakley's Warden shades. He had one before, and don't ask me what happened. But he looks good on it so if my budget will allow me, then I'll buy him another one.
4. Aqua di Gio. He has been begging me to buy him this perfume but I'd always settle for something less expensive.
5. A dozen of polo shirts and short-sleeve ones too. We are both not into buying clothes avery payday like other working people does. So we usually buy bulk during this time of the year.

FOR OUR BABY JOSHUA:

1. TEN dozens of bottles. Before, we really buy those Avent milk bottles for my son. Now that he's three, one of his habits is to throw his bottles(or anything he can get his hands on) like ping pong balls. Naturally, it would break. Then I would buy another one and same thing will happen. So what's the sense of buying a branded bottle when I can buy 10 bottles already with the price I have to pay for those huge and costly bottles.
2. A new pair of shoes. We have always wanted to buy my son a Nike shoes but the price is really unreasonable. And he may only be able to use it for a few years since he'll grow up and I just wasted 2-3 thousand PHP. But if there'll be a sale before Christmas, I think I'll finally buy him one.
3. Nebulizer. This, I'm 100% sure I'll buy. Joshua has been very asthmatic lately. We even had this not so good experience when we recently rushed him to the hospital. (Asian's Hospital) I have a health card and I hate to say this but it sucks big time! My health card only covered the room and consultation, but I paid for the rest. Anyway, I really have to buy him a nebulizer so I won't go lunatic looking for someone who has one.
4. Five 1.6 kgs. of milk. My son is such a milk addict. He's not into eating solid food. And I always run out of milk because he asks practically every hour.
5. 3 dozen's of shorts and t-shirt. Since joshua is getting bigger, his clothes looks like muscle lothes on him, protruding milk belly and all that.

These are just some of my wishes for this season. Feel free to choose what you want to give me as your Christmas present.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

pictures of our teambuilding/bday of boss

We had our team building last week/birthday of our ever beloved boss AJ. Since i don't have a digital camera, i was able to upload the pictures just now. Like what I've said on my last post, the place was really awesome!! I hope we can go back there for the team's Christmas party.

We had our hard earned 3-day off after the team building, since we had split-offs for the past 2 weeks. This coming week, we have another 3-day off, life couldn't get any better, right? Well, after our rest days for this week, we will go back to the same Sunday-Monday off. Darn.


Here, some of us posin
g @ the pool side. We have been soooo tired since we came from the 10pm till 7am shift then we headed right away to this place. In short, we only slept when we went home so it was like we were awake for more than 24 hours. But it's all worth it.The swimming pool looks just great! It can accommodate 50 guests I think and you can still move around the pool. There are trees around as you can see, fully landscaped greenery and something that looks like a fountain, that is really not a fountain, do I make sense? Hahaha!

The place
looks inviting. You can relax and have fun at the same time. If it get's too hot, there's a nipa-like cottage that you can go to or you can just stay at the air-contioned entertainment room, where you can choose to sing or to make fun of whoever is singing!!


And if it get's way too cold, you have the option of staying inside the sauna forever and loose those ugly pounds (ouch!!!), or you can do a walkaton or something to perspire. That's by the way Richard on your left, he's the other TCON (Transition Coach) that was not on our group pic that I posted the last time. He's the epitome of staying inside the sauna for an hour and being the runner(or our boy, hehehe) of the day.

If you get too drunk, then you can sleep in this nipa hut. Just beware since it's beside the pool. Next thing you know, you're already thrown at the pool by your good-natured(?) friends.




What's the best part? You can take pictures just about anywhere!! If you're a photo addict ( like us), then you can never run out of posing to do and places to have your picture taken.






You ca
n take picture as soon as you get to the place...while waiting for the food to be served. Also after eating when your stomach is already full






When doing absolutely nothing, when others are busy doing something and you're just waiting for your turn...when getting drunk..Or how you look before drinking and after...







Resting by the poolside after having an absurd water fight with your peers.... Or just simply posing because the view is great....





I hope we can do it again...without spending a dime...(dream on Mhei!!)


♥♥♥simply mhei♥♥♥


Friday, November 7, 2008

team building/bday party of boss

Yesterday was really awesome. Well, it really didn't start swell for I have to work during the wee hours taking endless calls. I swear, I almost thought of quitting because of those irate customers disputing their bills, asking for credits, complaining the service they get from us, complaining of having to wait on the queue forever....Good thing that we have a team building afterwards sponsored by the birthday celebrant- our boss, AJ. He reserved a very cool resort in BF Parañaque. Actually, the owner of the place is his relative. I don't think it's really being rented for the place is superb! It's just a house, well, not really JUST a house, since it's really huge. I'll post the pics sometime next week..stupid me, I forgot to get Ann's memory card so I can upload 'em right away.

Let me introduce the rest
of the Transition Coaches, or TCON's as they call it at work. Let me do it clockwise...I'll start from top left. Billy, the bald guy, who is one of the heartthrobs whenever we have transition agents (Agents who graduated from PST or Product Specifics Training, "transitioning" from training to the production floor). Next is our ever beloved BOSS AJ, who is somewhat strict (that's a compliment boss) but with a funny bone in his body. He's very efficient, mind you. Just make sure you hit the metrics and you're good. Next to boss AJ is Ann, our baby doll. Don't ask me why we call her baby doll because I honestly can't remember where it all started. Then, there's Ayith, which is THE LEGEND, being with Directv (our account) since it started it's operation in Alabang (need I say more?). Ofcourse, next to her is yours truly. After me, there's Jen, the mommy of all mommies. She really is a mom to everyone, even me, who's a mom,hahaha! KC or Khryzz is the person next to Jen, who's the sister of our old boss. Then, there's Cath, our AHT(Average Handle Time) queen. peace Cath :) Rose is next, I don't know how to describe her...she's good, she's the type who will tell you stories about life in general. After Rose is Ces, The youngest of all, one of the hot chicks (next to me,hahaha!). Well, behind that good looks-you'll never guess it but she can slap you real hard, and for her that's just a tap. After her is Chryss, who is not reporting to work anymore...(miss you Chryss!!) Then, there's Ivy, small but terrible (literally???). Then Dheck, another one of the sought-after TCON's, always being tagged as the TCON who smells good (so don't we smell as good as him?). next to Dheck is Marco, a very happy guy, he always smiles-not to himself. Then Eric is next, or should I say Don Eric? The big time alabanger guy who's feet stays glued to the ground, well, not literally or he won't be able to move his wheelchair to places. And last but the least,er, not the least, Rosh, one of the funniest. Oh, there's Richard, but he wasn't in the picture or he would have ruined everything.(good thing..hahaha!!kidding Chard!)

Going back to the party, the place is really great. The pool is big, there's jacuzzi, sauna, there's an entertainment room, and there's a hut on the second floor where you can relax and just drink or whatever. There's another hut on the pool side wherein you can lie down and just feel the wind breezing on your cheeks. Boss AJ ordered a lot of food, courtesy of Contis' and bought beers and vodkas. Well, I don't drink anymore, so I just spent majority of the time singing my heart out in the entertainment room, which is air-conditioned. Some went to swim, some stayed on the the bigger hut and played cards while drinking and the rest went to our concert in the entertainment room. It really was fun, that although we didn't sleep for almost 24 hours, being with friends and enjoying the time made it really worthwhile.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

our hard-earned car

I have always wanted to own a car. I have been working my ass out for the longest time and finally, we were able to buy(along with my husband) one last summer. Well, it's not a brand new car, not something that will cost you a fortune, not something you can be proud of like Miata or Porsche...But I'M DEFINITELY PROUD OF IT since it's our first car and from our hard-earned money. It's just Mitsubishi Galant model 91. We're so lucky to get it at a very competitive price, let me not mention though how much, but we got it in a perfect(well, not so perfect since it's a second hand) condition. No scratches, cool aircon, superb sound system and all the works! It's just very untimely for us to buy a car when everyone else would rather commute because of the gas hike. Right now, I would still say it's a good buy and we can go almost anywhere without having to commute, or ride a cab. It's no longer a hassle for us to go to my mom's place to leave my son (we don't have a maid) and pick him up after a few days. (When it's our off). Plus the recent gas roll back which is at least for a peso or two ever... I hope that continues.

I did mention that it was in a very minty condition when we bought it. Well, just a couple of months after, we were so lucky that we got hit by a truck, or let me rephrase that, WE HIT A TRUCK!! I didn't know if my hubby just didn't see the truck slowing down or he was just daydreaming...He was the one driving by the way since I don't know how to drive. I tried to, once or twice, but he said I'm a clutch driver. (Ours is just manual transmission) In short, I'm always on the passenger's seat, with my husband as the driver. Going back to the incident, I don't know how luckier we can get...we actually hit that stupid truck (Or..are we the stupid ones??) just right across where there were a handful of policemen. So in short, we have to pay or we'll stay there forever. What's worse?? (I can say this is cataclysmic) WE DON'T HAVE A LICENSE!! And what else? It happened the day before our pay day!!Sucks, right? Thanks to our life savers AYEN AND NICO whom I phoned. They came to the rescue an hour later and paid the police 750pesos. They said we were lucky because sometimes you will be asked to pay around two thousand or even more. If you come to think of it, we were still lucky because no one got hurt (We were with another officemate Rina), and we hit a truck that didn't get any dent at all.

So, what happened to the car?? Well...it got dented big time. The hood had a big dent, the grill of the car was busted totally, so we have to use my son's shoelace (very clever right?) to close the hood of the car. Now, what we are doing is to have it fixed one at a time. We started with the hood, it's a little ok now, then, we had the aircon fixed. I think it got affected by the accident, and now we had the grills replaced. So it looks as good as new (Well, not really). At least it looks like a car again,hahaha!

Now, I've realized that maintaining a car is such a pain. You have to make sure that the car undergoes tune-ups, change oils, overhaul, what have you. You also have to take it to the nearest car wash every week. Then, you also have to pay for the registration every year whick would cost you 3-5 thousand!! Well, that's the price I have to pay literally for wanting comfort of not commuting and passing short cuts.

Monday, November 3, 2008

CALL CENTER WORLD


Call centers or contact centers in the Philippines have grown rampantly over the years, giving thousands of people high paying jobs that provides services to western markets, specially American companies. Approximately around 10 to 20% of Filipinos employed in the country work for off shore contact centers. This is one of the most sought-after jobs in the country, you just have to sit and talk to irate customers and you get paid big time. This being the major trend in the industry, there are now courses that focus on working on a call center.

Western investors pick Philippines as top priority in outsourcing their companies for several grounds. One of the major reasons is the fluency of Filipinos in English. According to several reviews, natives from the Philippines have the highest level of proficiency in the English language all across Asia. Filipinos are eloquent speakers and have the most naturalized accent that can be easily understood by western customers. (Love your own, right?) They are secure that we can communicate effectively even to customers off-shore.

American, British, and Aussie employers hand-pick Philippines as their target because of the fair labor costs. It is way expensive to hire someone from United States, or United Kingdom than getting people from our country work for them, which is good, for without this kind of industry, I'm probably jobless or not being paid well.

Filipinos are also known to have good work ethics, being able to adapt easily, making it another basis why people from the west prefer to outsource in the country. They are confident that they are investing their money correctly. It is also believed that we, Filipinos, are already familiar with their culture, thus, we can easily adapt to their environment.

So how does it work? Or how do you get a career in this type of industry? What skills you should acquire to be able to land a job as a call center agent or customer service representative? What are the benefits? What are the pro's and con"s of being in one of the most talk flourishing jobs in the Philippines?

It's pretty simple. SPEAK ENGLISH with a good twang and you're ready to go. You really don't need to have that heavy Brit accent to work for a contact center. As long as you can construct a coherent sentence, can understand the language, and can speak clearly (since you will undergo culture and communications training anyway), then all you need is to polish your English vocabulary.

Next rule of the thumb: instill in your mind that PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE. Like what I've said earlier, you will be talking to irate customers. Most of the time, customers will call because they have problems, they will not be calling in the first place if they are just doing great and they feel like just talking to a customer representative of her cable provider just for the heck of it.

Flexibility to shifting schedule should also be put into consideration. If you will work for a call center, you should be aware that it has 24/7 operation hours, which means, you have to work at nights, Sundays and holidays (Even on Christmas Day). So you'd have to give up your usual night-outs or dates with your boyfriend. You need to adjust your body clock because changes in schedule can happen in a short span of time.

Computer skills can also be an advantage. I'm not saying that you have to be a computer savvy that you know how a mother board looks like or what have you, just basic knowledge on how to run a computer will be fine. It will be to your edge if you know some technicalities though. Since you will be using computers to access your customer's info (I doubt if we still have call centers who don't use computers), you'll need to know keyboard shortcuts, like control V for pasting and control C for copying, etc.

Ofcourse, you should also have the ability to make the customer believe you are giving accurate info, the skill to pacify a very outrageous customer and most specially, you have to be analytical or you woudln't understand, what more assist your customers.

Some would say it's one of the easiest job you can have, next to being a dancer, well, I completely beg to disagree. If you are already working for a contact center, you'd think again. FOR THOSE INTERESTED, AND WANTS TO TRY YOUR LUCK, JUST EMAIL ME YOUR RESUME AND I'LL HELP YOU.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Signs that you're INLOVE

Sometimes I wish I can be single again and all. I's not saying that my married life is on the rocks. It's actually doing just great. I just envy my friends when they tell me how awesome their partners are. Here I go again...being hopeless romantic. So how would you know if you were struck by Cupid?? Ofcourse I love my husband so much, but I can't help but think how would it be if you have been single for the longest time and all of a sudden you stop and say to yourself "I think I'm inlove", with a gleam in your eyes. So, what are the signs then?

*YOU FEEL COMPLETE-From having an uber pessimistic personality, you turned into a very logical human being. You feel like no one understands you before the way he does now. You see yourself building a family with 3 kids with him. Yes, you feel like uttering that line from a movie "You complete me".

*YOU ARE CORNY-You suddenly become a party pooper-you just want to be with him. You can no longer be found at any get-together. You nake plans to go out with friends and cancel it on the last minute because the object of your affection asked you out for a date.

*RADIO IS YOUR NEW BESTFRIEND-You put your JAY-Z and NELLY cd's in the drawer and you start listening to Frank Sinatra and Angela Bofill all day. You listen to every line intently, feeling like every word makes sense. You feel like the songs are created just for you.

*YOU FEEL LIKE DYING WHEN YOU'RE NOT TOGETHER-You feel devastated when you have to part ways, specially when he can't be with you to go to a business trip. If only you can fit yourself inside a luggage just to be with him. Then you go to your friends (which you neglected literally when you met him) and bore them to death about your new love story.

*YOU THINK ABOUT HIM 24/7-You think about him when you wake up, while doing the laundry, while eating, when you are at work (you write his name across yours), while preparing dinner and before going to sleep. Everything reminds you of him, even that silly cat of you neighbor.

*YOU LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT-You laugh at all jokes though they aren't really funny. You smile at all times and that sparkle in your eyes will always be there specially if you talk about him. You started doing weird things you though you wouldn't dare do in the past and now you feel it's fun.

♥♥♥mhei♥♥♥

I know where u are and what connection you're using!

Sign by Dealighted - Black Friday Coupons

ScrollFx

RetroNix Clock