Five More Months

I know I said one year at Job #1. I know it's the right thing to do, but I swear, I think it's going to be easier said than done.

I want a positive working environment. I want a boss who values me as an employee as well as a person. I want to feel good about spending the day in the office every single time I turn that doorknob in the morning. I want to be with people who get "it." I want to be mentored. I want to not have to put up with someone's personal problems. I want an uninterrupted lunchtime and two 15-minute breaks per day as defined by the laws of this country. I want to be proud of who I work with.

Am I asking for too much again? I was excited about working in an all-women department again, but seven months later, I'm now starting to realize that maybe there was nothing to be excited about afterall (However, I do not wish to be the only woman in an all-men department either. Been there, done that, and wishes to not find herself in the same situation again).

It's a shame that all I'm thinking about is my one year anniversary in which I can finally say goodbye. These days, I'm pre-occupied with thoughts like, "There are three paid holidays in November; December will fly by; then it's only three more months to go." Pathetic!

Please tell me you have a crappier workplace than I do. Please, pretty please? HeHe.

I Will Be There

It's official: I will be in the Philippines sometime next year. Whether it's March 2005, or July 2005, I will be there because I am a woman of my words, and because *ahem ...that's what friends are foOoOor... =D

Butcher's Cut

I got a haircut yesterday. I was hoping for just a trim, but the woman straight butchered my hair. Well, she butchered it with my permission. I'm too stressed out about life right now and seeing my flat hair day in and day out doesn't help me feel better about the world. I swear, kapag nainis na talaga ako sa buhok ko, pakakalbo ko sarili ko. Promise yan. Target date ko sana paguwi next year. I don't know anybody whom I care to impress in Manila (ows?!), it's going to be hotter than Hades since it's summer, and I can go around the country on my backpacking adventures without anyone wanting to mess with me kung kalbo ako. Right? Right! I might have the ultimate freedom of not having to worry about my hair in the mornings kaso naman wala din akong dates nito. Umasa pa! LoL.

Speaking of which, I almost choked on the pretzel that I was eating last night while watching ASAP (Parang all of my entries lately are about TV shows. Obvious ba na tag-ulan season na and I'm in my pseudo-hibernation state? HeHe.). Christian Bautista's brother came on and said (and I quote!), "Sana magka-girlfriend ka na." Parang narinig ko na yan somewhere ha. LoL. Brother Jordan, all I can tell you is, I'm here for your brother; I'm only a call away. LoL.

I Have Joined The World

Hold on to your seats because you might not be able to handle the news that I'm about to tell all of you:

I bought a cellphone yesterday.

Is anyone still with me? LoL. So, I got home feeling like I now belong to society. I feel accomplished for having a cute, tiny Sony Ericsson phone and without signing a 1- or 2-year contract (No new commitments until March 2005, remember?). I started leafing through the manual and what did it say? "Roaming outside of your local network is not available at this time." Dammit. The only reason I finally decided to buy one is because I need it for my trip to another state next month. Goodness!

Now, I got to do more research and figure out which company provides a pre-paid plan with roaming capabilities. *SIGH. The last time I checked, none of the other companies had a cute Sony Ericsson phone for the pre-paid plans. I've checked eBay already for unlocked phones, but it's a pain in the butt to search and bid on phones (I should know, I woke up at 6:45 a.m. to bid last minute on a phone this morning; I lost). If only AT&T had something else besides the Nokia 2260 to offer. Doorstopper na lang ata yan sa Manila! LoL.

Say It Like This

A couple of people have told me to work for a call center once I get to Manila just because it's an easy job to get and the pay is good. Have people forgotten that I'm too idealistic for such a thing?! That is not my goal in my "Balikbayan Trail" adventures, people! Tarush! HeHe. Seriously though, if my "shallow" goal is to just have enough money to be able to eat out every weekend with my cousins, then maybe getting a job at a call center would do the trick. However, I seriously would pack my bags and go back to Seattle if I have to go through those "Hooked on Phonics" training sessions that I saw on Special Assignment tonight. Hindi ko kinaya ang mga nakita ko! LoL.

I even raised an eyebrow on a couple of occasions, mainly on the topic of speaking without accents. I'm sorry, but mas mataray pang mag-ingles yung isang na-interview kesa sa akin na lumaki dito. LoL. I understand that there are Filipinos with strong accents out there. However, I'd like to think that most Americans have interacted with other Americans who have strong accents and they have understood each other. I'd also like to think that people of other races, who have their own accents, have succeeded well in this country despite having those accents. At the same time, as years pass, most Americans will know that call centers are based in India and the Philippines. Just the other week, I called AOL and knew very well that the woman I was talking to was based in India. My point is trying hard na yung emphasis sa "slang." Yes, it is important to make the employees more understandable over the phone. For someone who struggled with understanding her Chinese Quantitative Methods professor for two straight quarters at Seattle University, I completely understand. However, to twist and bend one's tongue for the simple goal of covering up one's ethnicity/nationality is just too absurd for me.