I have not updated this blog for a quite a while because I have my new blogsite ( http://augustaffairblog.com) I wanted to transfer everything from here to that site.However, I cannot open it today, maybe because my host site is down so i am back here. I hope they fix whatever is the matter soon. I have paid for it. 
It’s CHRISTMAS! The most wonderful time of the year. This isn’t definitely just a cliché because since I was a child, a lot of good things always happen during the season. This year however, I am here working my butt out since I am on graveyard shift. It can be real hard to be absent from your own home during Christmas Eve but I chose this option so I can be around for my family during the New Year’s Eve! This is the downside of being in a Call Center. One cannot have all the time that one wants. One should learn to give up some things. Worst! sometimes there is really no choice. We have been given the option to choose either Christmas eve or New Year’s eve as our day off. I chose the latter because it’s the time that my whole family gather in the house. Since I am on graveyard shift, I can still be home on Christmas day. We did have our own celebration or Noche Buena im my work place earlier. The Catering service was good. The food was sumptuous as compared to the previous years. We even had our midnight raffle with appliances and gift checque as prizes. All in all it wasn’t that bad. One just can’t help but feel a little sad. But anyway, the pay premium is also double tonight so that’s another plus to balance the scale. Tomorrow or later since it’s 3 am by my watch already ( Dec. 25, 2008) , I am sure my day will be filled with good cheers and a lot children antics from my own kids, nieces & nephews. I really look forward to it as I have always looked forward to the past Christmases when I was growing up. It has been a family tradition to be together and we have carried that out until today. The difference this time is that I am the one who will be giving out presents when before I am one of the recipients. Indeed life is just a cycle. Moving forward, I am sure these kids will do the same for their future kids. That is keeping the act of generosity alive in the family and hopefully in the community.
As the new year approaches, I am more inclined to read about Astrology and Feng Shui. I have always been fond of reading anything related to these subjects, one of the known traits of a Saggitarian.
Based on my readings here are some of the common Feng shui guides when building or looking for a house as written by Ty Tan, a Feng Shui expert in Malaysia.
Bad Bedroom Feng Shui
1. The bedroom door should not open directly in the position of the bed.Now let us go to the Feng Shui for the main door which according to Feng Shui experts is the mouth of our home where most chi enters. Our main entrance will determine whether the Feng Shui of our home is good or bad.
Bad Main Door Feng Shui
1. Main door should have a protective roof. These are just a few of the things that would guide us. I will search for more Feng Shui guides in the coming days. Right now, I am in the midst of the preparation for the office Christmas party. So till next post.
All Soul’s Day 2008 has come and gone and I have not written about it. I got sidetracked by everything that has happened at home most specifically my daughter having gotten the chicken pox. This is actually the time that most families are able to gather aside of course from Christmas. In our family this is our 2nd year to spend it at my father’s grave. There are only four of us and all living in the same City, yet we rarely get to see one another unless something major happens.
It can really be sad to note that this is becoming the norm among the Filipino families. We don’t really gather around pretty often. It could be because of the hard times such that we would rather spend our time working than sitting around and catching up with what is happening among our siblings. Or it could also be because we know that our families are just there so we put off seeing them and we spend our times in discovering new horizons and meeting new friends instead.
Something happened at my workplace today. The event made me realize a lot of things, First and foremost is that- life is really too short. In a snap of finger it can be taken away from you. Who would have thought that the person we were just talking to the night before would suddenly die of cardiac arrest?
I was about to take my second and last break for the day when someone passed by and told us to wake up “Benhur”. With the way the statement sounded, it came across as a sarcastic joke to me. I really thought that Ben was sleeping on the job. I stood up and took a glance at Ben nonetheless and saw the most unforgettable sight that I believe I would remember for the rest of my life. I saw the sight of a person who was dying. Maybe because right then and there I already had an inkling that he was going to die so my reaction was kind of "out of character". Instead of coming near him like what my two officemates, James and Nessa did, I ran around to look for the nurse. When I didn’t find the nurse, I went to the HR office instead. It was as if I didn’t want to have any involvement in what’s going on so I tried to look for someone to pass on the buck. Even when I saw that people were already crowding in the area where he was being tended, I didn’t even took a glance at the dying form. I can just hear them panicking and all, but I never really went near them. That is realization no.2.- I haven’t gotten over the death of my father. I cannot go near Benhur because the look that I saw was the exact look that I saw when my father was also dying so I didn’t want to confront the helplessness. I knew that there was little that I could do. Maybe I really haven’t gotten over the trauma of losing my father so I didn’t want to have anything to do with any other person’s death.
Even if I wasn’t looking though, I heard everything that happened. I heard them say that he had peed on his pants. I heard them say that his hands were already blue. I heard them say that a tear dropped from his eyes when he was being helped by my officemates. It was really like listening to a show over the radio. I heard everything but I didn’t have the heart to look at the scene. Since I heard everything I also know that there was considerable delay before he was finally brought to the hospital. There was no evident support from the back office people to actively look for a vehicle so he can be brought to the hospital. The nurse may not have also been trained for the situation, or she might just have panicked that she forgot to perform CPR. There were people in the group of onlookers who wanted to do so but was either afraid or shy to come forward and do so. That brings me to realization no. 3-that my office was not and is not prepared for situations like this. The company as big as this should have an “On-Call Doctor for this type of emergencies. It’s common knowledge that this industry is stress prone so it should have been management’s initiative to have contingency plan.
He was declared dead after an hour in the hospital but I guess he was already dead even when he was still here. Based on the account of those who were carrying him, they heard him expel out a very deep breath that sounded like a snore. According to some people, that could have been his last breath.
I feel sad for his family. I don’t know how they are coping and how they wouild be able to cope with it. I feel bad for his children because I know how it is to be fatherless myself. They would be celebrating Christmas without a father and his upcoming birthday would just become a birth anniversary. His aunt even said that Benhur has a lot of plans for the future. He was vocal on his plan to go abroad. In a way, he has gone abroad. Abroad to eternal life.
Life indeed is precious. Let us not waste it on petty things.
To our dear comrade Benhur, may your soul rest in peace!
This is a follow up on my blog about the irritating persona in my workplace. For the past weeks, we have not really gotten the chance to talk it out. Maybe its also unwillingness on my part to have that talk, or for all I know she also doesn’t want to. It seems that we are just bent on avoiding each other. One thing I am definitely sure about is that she knows I have a grudge on her. I don’t know if she got an inkling that almost all the people in our support are more vocal about their feelings for her lately. When she passes by, you would then hear the purring sound imitating that of a cat. That has become the symbol she represent, because to hear her talk is like hearing the “meoww” sound of a cat.
What made me write about her again is the comment from my seatmate. He hated the way she got out of a sticky situation at work by putting the blame for the blunder on another person. She wasn’t really sure about a particular product when she was asked about it, but when she knew that somebody was going to be reprimanded related to the product, she compounded the situation by saying that the person should have asked from them. How can you expect for her to have given the correct answer, if she doesn’t even know that the product exists? So for her to say that she and her minions should have been asked is quite hilarious. The nerve of this person. Hypocrite as ever! . She could just have showed her support by saying that she also doesn’t even know about it. She really have this tendency to make herself look good at the expense of others.
This also brought to mind the incident that happened more than a year ago. We were all quiet as queue was quite high, when all of a sudden we heard her narrating a story to someone on the floor. For her to say something about her experience is okay. It was her right to do so. However, what caught our attention was the gist of the story. She said that she slipped when she was coming out from the shower because she was wearing “ havaiannas” and because their floors are tiled. Does she really need to stress on the brand of the slipper? Does she really have to specify that their floors are tiled? It’s her right to narrate things, but if she doesn’t really have the intent to brag, she could have told that story in a “not so loud” voice.:)
I believed that everybody in my bay have been affected by that pronouncement, because almost everybody rolled their eyes. Even the two most quiet seatmates reacted by smirking. See!! She can affect even the most timid person
Some say that this personality may have been a result of the environment she was brought up in. I cannot say for sure and I didn’t t want to make that judgment, until the day she crossed my path. I pray to my ancestors that I will get over this feeling of loathing towards her. I know for a fact though that I am not alone in this feeling. I just hope we all get the wisdom to be tolerant to the most irritating persona we have ever met. This could even become our Holiday season wish
Isn’t this a noble wish? 
I have always believed that everything happens for a reason. Looking back on all missed opportunities to work abroad, I realized it was for a reason as well. I am still here in the country because nobody can give my kids the kind of loving and caring that I can do. Nobody will ever understand our kids more except us “mothers”.
1st – What if I wasn’t here, who would have the patience to apply all these ointments?.
2nd –What if I wasn’t here, who would dress up my daughter since she doesn’t have the strength to do it herself? 3rd – What if I wasn’t here, who would literally feed the food to her mouth because she has to be forced to eat? 4th What if I wasn’t here, who would fix her hair as they have been messy after 48 hours of just lying in bed? 5th – What if I wasn’t here, who would simply hug her because she was reduced to tears out of frustration for her condition?All those questions and more ran through my mind, and my answer was nobody as dedicated as I would be. Yes, she will have her nanny, her aunt and grandma, but I don’t think their concerns could match mine as they would also have other priorities. The brand of loving that I could give is incomparable simply because I am the “MOM”.
Chicken pox and 1st Menstruation top my list of “to watch out for events” in my daughter’s life. The first being on-going right now. I cannot imagine my worry if she went through this ordeal and I wasn’t here. I only have to watch out for the second one to happen and I guess I will be calmer. I can then plan my strategy for the other “to watch out for events” like having her first boyfriend etc. etc. 
I still plan to go out of the country, but as of now I am just so glad that I am here. Nothing beats the feeling of being there when I am needed most. After all, I guess that is the essence of being a mother.
Raising kids is really no mean feat! I have learned that fact when I became a Mom myself. It made me appreciate my parents more. From the day your kids are born, they become your responsibility, so no matter what’s the cost, you will have to take care of them the best way that you can.
My daughter got inflicted with Chicken pox caused by infection with varicella zoster virus, so you can just imagine the stress that I am going through lately. I am not complaining though. What is important for me is to see her healed. I know how itchy the blisters can be.
She may have gotten the virus from one of the kids at school. Since it takes from 10 to 20 days after contact with an infected person for someone to develop chickenpox then she may have had the virus since last week thus she was feeling kind of lethargic. This also means that she will be absent from school for the next two weeks to avoid spreading it further.
I have been sleeping for only around 2 hours per day since she got sick. I had to keep watch most of the time in case she needs anything or to be there when she feels uncomfortable. During situations like these , I think back on what my own parents have done for me. I got the same ilness when I was in College already so I remember how I was taken cared of by my own parents during those crucial days.
It was really my father who was the “worry wart” between the two of them . He would always ask me then how I was feeling. He would even be the one to bring me hot soup so I could eat properly as even my lips had blisters. I really appreciated those efforts so I know how to do the same for my kid now. Indeed, you can truly give only when you have received.Thank you dear parents for showing a good example, otherwise, I will be at a loss now.Tonight is my first night on Graveyard shift after almost a year of alternating between Mid-shift and Dawn shift. This is the shift avoided by most Call Center agents as it’s really different to be sleeping during the day compared to sleeping during the night. . Our bodies have been used to resting at night since the day we were born thus our body clock always have a hard time adjusting to any changes.
For now however, I welcome this change of shift with enthusiasm . It is because I got tired of waking up so early in the morning in order to catch the first trip in our place. Living in a remote area would really try your patience. You wake up early, there is no jeepney available, you wake up a little late, the first trip has gone out already. That has always been the scenario, thus one can’t help but feel stressed out even if the day has just started. I also cannot ask my siblings to bring me to work as price of gasoline today could also make your blood boil. I’d rather take the public ride than suffer their grumblings. That would surely add to the stress
I am glad that upon arrival at the office, I didn’t see the irritating persona described in the previous post. Otherwise, it would surely augur bad days ahead. I am superstitious in a way. I believe that if you wake up at the right side of the bed, the rest of the day will be a good one. In the same manner that I should feel good during the first day of this new schedule in order for me to surpass the days ahead. Thank God, it seems that my wish is being granted. This is such a great respite from hearing the nagging voice and feeling the irritating presence.
Add to that, I don’t feel sleepy at all. Whew!! I hope the same will happen in the next 90 plus days . I would surely need the help of my ever loyal pillow and coffee mug just in case. COFFEE ANYONE?
Once in a while, we get to meet people that no matter how hard you try to avoid a skirmish with, would really find a way to grate on your nerves. Their ways are just so irritating that you cannot help but stoop down to their level and find a way to fight back.
This is the case with one of my co worker. She has been the subject of the “whispered talks and not so whispered ones “ but she doesn’t seem to have a clue about it. Ever since I started with the company she has been the cause of irritants for some of the newbies. She can be pretty in her own right. What makes her ugly to my eyes and to the eyes of many people is when she starts to become high falluting as if everybody around her is inferior.
I really do not know why, but she has this habit of joining a conversation even if she is not included. Not only that, she has this way of pronouncing that she knows almost about anything, that she is an authority on almost every subject – a “ know it all attitude”. These things, I try so hard not to mind, just as long as I am not included in the conversation she has interrupted.. Even if I am deeply involved in the banter, once she meddles in, I would just turn my back and stare on my computer screen so as not to be affected.
For years, I have maintained this indifferent attitude towards her. I only talk to her when and if necessary, but other than that, I keep my distance. As long as I am not directly involved with her, I thought I was safe. Until the day, she really got on my nerves. The day when I was feeling ill and was not in the mood to work. Of all days, she chose that particular day to impose her high self on me. She may be holding a higher position than mine but she doesn’t have the right to look for me when I wasn’t around as if I have done something utterly wrong. She should know how to hold her tongue and choose her words because she doesn’t have the sole right to be mean. I can be MEAN too!! You must be wondering what have I done so far to get back!! Well, as of this writing, nothing yet, that is why I am trying to put it into words, in the hope that it would alleviate my anger. But I would say, it is time that somebody puts her where she belongs.
