Time flies so fast... Time to work =)

The curtain has officially closed today for our training. It seems only just yesterday when we just started out. Starting September 2, we'll now be applying all we've learned in training and start anew with the new chapter in our career.

The training was fun and complicated at the same time. ahahah (Kaboom!) Dunno if you'll see this guys. The team was really fun to be with. There were good days and of course, there were bad days. And dang, there was indeed a lot. There's a lot to learn. :D ahahaha. The road was long but was worth it. It took a while before I know who the real persons are. There were just a few but I'm happy I met them all. They're all nice. (ahem). when sleeping. ahaha.

Anyway, we've really learned a lot and burned our eyebrows everyday. After 6 weeks, it's finally time to move on. Friendships arose as well as conflicts. Well, that's reality for 'ya. :D Acceptance seems to be far fetched and hopefully some of them will see it too.

Just wishing all the best to Wave 32. =) See 'ya around!

A day at the office

I've officially completed the first week of training at APAC Customer Services Cubao. It was very nice but a bit complicated. ahahaha. The place is good and the program is promising. My co-trainees are nice as well. I'm still in the adjustment period in being a supervisor to a rep. I'm still having complex ideas and a miss simpler details a few times. But all is good. Some are real nice and some are starting to show their true colors.

Nothing personal. Just business. Well, training is really good. I kinda liked both of my trainers in almost all aspects. Check out my posts at mylot to see what I somehow prefer. They're Cat and Renee. Real nice people. I don't know them fully as well as my new friends. The trainers are really good. So far, I'm blessed to have all of my trainers to be excellent in their field. Ever since my first work at convergys.

Product training is now coming up. On monday, we'll get down to business. It's crunch time. We'll I just expect that it would not be that difficult. I have a purpose and I have a goal. I intend to get it. =) Take care guys.

Video Games : Reminiscing the good old Gameboy

Hi guys! I just had a chance to play some old games while waiting for the start of my work. One game that I ran across with was FFA(Final Fantasy Adventure™) for the Nintendo Gameboy™. It was roughly more than 17 years ago since I got my hand on a Gameboy™ unit and one of the games that I played most was FFA. I played it until my batteries went out. Well, that game was really something since it was THE game that made me love Role-playing games.

FFA revolves around a hero who met a girl (no specific name. You can choose your own =)) who's a mystery and you travel all around the world discovering treasures and unfolding the truth that is Mana. You visit towns and explore dungeons and it is in real-time and not turn-based like Final Fantasy 3™ for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System™ and the rest of the Final Fantasy™ series on the Playstation™ and Playstation 2™. The characters are remarkable and you will feel like you are there walking around yourself.

My save file is already corrupted as wall as my Gamepak. But here are 2 screenshots of the game. Try it out. It's one of the oldest but one of the good rpgs to play. Enjoy and have fun!

Final Fantasy is a registered trademark of Square. Playstation is a registered trademark of Sony. Gameboy/Super Nintendo Entertainment System are registered trademarks of Nintendo.

Internet : Mylot - an online discussion forum

Hey guys! It's been about 2 months since I started out at www.mylot.com. Basically, this is a social site where you could start almost any discussion that interests you and other members reply to them and you converse about it on the discussion. Interests varies incredibly. From walking to learning quantum physics, politics, life, and more. Almost anything under the sun. Check it out.

Now, there is something different about mylot compared to most discussion forums. This site is paying you to participate in discussions. Yes, you heard me right. They do. Based on your discussions, responses and comments, you earn a certain amount on a daily basis. The currency is in dollars and can be payable through paypal. Also, members can be referred. Please do click my link above, or below for mylot.

As with most of the members, they were attracted to the payout of the site. However, just a reminder that it isn't something that could replace real income. The payouts doesn't reach that high and it would take tremendous effort to at least reach half of the usual daily pay. This however, isn't ab obstacle. As you experience mylot, you will notice that you'll get more than money. It's the fact that the members are from all over the world and you hear lots and lots of ideas and different opinions, it will keep you glued for some time.

You'll have friends as well, you can post pictures and provide links. The discussions can really get lively especially when you have a very interesting topic. There are nice people but of course, not all opinions are the same and debates may occur. But it's fun. I suggest you try it out if you haven't yet. Once again, here's the link. Click here. Take care peeps!

July 1st, Light at the end of the tunnel

It's been a very fast paced July 1st for me. I am very much into completing my pre-employment. Oh, yeah, I'm now officially part of team APAC and I'll be starting in 2 weeks time. The timing was just perfect for them and I got what I want, what I need and what I deserve. I applied friday and I got the job on saturday. That was a long process but it's as fast as it could get. 1 day of processing indeed. I appreciate their promptness and their welcome.

I do appreciate my previous company as they've been such a great family and perhaps will always be. NCO has given me a lot. It may be sad but that's life. we need to move on. They will all be my friends. I've had such a great time there that I love almost everything in my work. The place, the people and the work itself.

Anyway, today I get to start completing my requirements. Wow. I'm almost done. :D It was a very looooooooong line at the NBI clearance office. Good thing, I came in early and i'm the 20th on the line. (hey, that's already a good thing. Usually, the # of people reaches 1000 a day). The PCs got messed up though and we stood still for 2 hours!!!! When the PCs were fixed (dang I could've fixed it myself) it just took 30 minutes and I'm done. Just got home and my knee acted up and I'm in terrible pain when walking and most especially when going up/down the stairs. Need to sit down for a while.

That's all for now! c'ya! Take care!

Continued Success..

Yesterday, my girlfriend came back from the US after her much awaited state boards. After waiting for quite a long time, she is able to pass the boards and is now on her way to working as a full-pledged physical therapist in the United States. Congratulations! Take care and God Bless!

A work ahead : Part Deux

Well, it's been almost a month now since I started "job hunting" again. I did turn down one of the offers though. But, that's been done. I've applied to a couple of company I like and positions I prefer. I was about to begin to apply for jobs that is somewhat in my interest just to get a job and then go up again internally. But today was different...

A typhoon, "Frank", just passed through here in the Philippines and I started anew and applied again. I am almost in slight desperate mode as I really needed a job. I do not just prefer my old company, I love working there so I passed by this morning and went to the same process again. This time, it seems my prayers are slowly being answered. Not only did I have a chance to be back working with my company but I got a better position. It is not over yet though, I'm still for a final interview and I had the same feeling when I passed the other application with flying colors.

It is hard to apply for a job. I'm turning to my experience to land me a job as soon as possible. But it is way harder to apply for a job you like as there is somewhat a slight pressure on you if you don't get it. But for me, the more pressure, the more serious I get and the better the results are. But now, I am thanking God for this chance. I'll do the best I can to land that job I finally like. It's same as my previous position but on a different department. Nonetheless, my top priority is my previous company. Wish me luck! =) Thank you.

Philippines : Typhoon 'Frank'

Today, was a sad day in the Philippines. Typhoon Frank hit the Visayas region, central and southern luzon, Philippines yesterday. Here in the capital, it was around 5 AM, saturday, philippine time, when the lights went out to prepare for the typhoon. The winds started to howl and in the darkness you hear doors and windows slam. You can see the trees outside swaying. It was scary as well.

I just wish and pray that those people who are still missing can be found and nobody will get hurt anymore because of this typhoon. On the news today, a ferry in the central Philippines area cap-sized (source: inquirer.net) and more or less 700 are missing. I am hoping that all of them have the strength and will to survive until help arrives. I'm sure that the authorities are on its toes in helping out the victims. Amidst the different political and economical problems, calamities like these bring about cooperation from almost everyone. Differences are set aside.

As of now, it's 9 in the evening, sunday, the Typhoon is well on its way out to the western coast of the Philippines. It is still raining heavily from time to time and floods are still abound in most areas. To every one, take care and God Bless.

TV : I'm a charmed one!

Ohh, I just can't help it. I really really like the show Charmed. It took me a month and about a week to finish the entire 8 seasons. I find the show melodramatic and all the ordeals of the characters were really touching. I watched the series while it was on air a few years ago but I never got to see it chronologically. I skipped a few episodes and got lost with the story.

Well. It was really fun to watch and the plot was creative. The storyline is linear throughout the season. There were some good characters that were incorporated to the story of the three sisters and most of the main characters were kept. It was a bit sad though from Season 3 to 4 (spoiler alert)... when Prue was gone and Paige comes in. She (Rose McGowan) did a good job filling in for another sister. There was really a strong bond between the characters which made a solid story and a very good series.

I am not into magic that much though. I'm a fan of a few card tricks. :D But it got me interested and somehow got close to the characters. Aye! I just want to meet them (the stars of the show) and talk to them about it. Hopefully someday. Have fun watching! Hope you enjoyed it as well as I did. ciao!

Internet : Let there be light...

The DSL Light that is. :D Well, it turned out ok today and got my DSL back. I had to personally complain at their office just to expedite the repairs. It's as fast as before and sometimes even faster. But I won't forget the horrors with most of the tech support reps I spoke with. I dunno but all of the ladies I spoke with were the nicest ones. All 3 of them. Well, that's already done and the internet is back. Next stop, rebate request... (sigh) I hope it won't take more than a month to complete it. Well, that's all!! see 'ya!

Internet : Hell Week for DSL... and it ain't over yet. Globelines is on a roll...

Since June 11, Thursday at around 11 PM, my DSL from Globelines Broadband has been down. I never thought their tech support was almost useless. I've been calling everyday and sometimes more than twice and only 1 was able to show best knowledge. Her name was Daisy. The rest was just plain incompetent. Up to now, my DSL is still down and I am resorting to a super slow Dial Up connection.

Now here's where it really got messed up. It seemed the problem has affected a very wide area and even reached outlying provinces. Then, they said that something is wrong with their facilities. It's obvious. I wasn't asking for that. I was asking for the exact problem and the estimated time of completion.

Come Thursday, June 18, exactly 1 week after the downtime, someone called. Yay! They said I was on the priority list. Well.. guess what. It's already Saturday and nothing's happening. No one called and no one showed up. I sure hope a lot of readers would see this especially from the Philippines. The speed of the DSL is good but after sales support? From a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 2. Tomorrow, I'll be visiting the mall. Their office will get an earful from me. I've been patient enough but this is unreasonable. I've lost time online for myself and my family (we use the net to do video calls with relatives), business, and even my job is affected. I've lost some of my online subscriptions, and some side income as well. We'll see.

And the sign was made clear.

There it was, the conclusion of the first application. I declined the offer. I was too hesitant to sign. No offense to the company, they gave equal opportunities and I thanked them personally for the chance they've given me. But the doubt was more than certainty. I turned the offer down. Maybe because I was part of management before. I tend to look at contracts in a different way than some people. I get "OC" so to speak and I found quite a number of flaws I didn't like or things that I expect that didn't appear. It was good though, they increased the offer to near half of my previous salary. But still I don't want to sign something and regret it in the end.

There are factors though. First off was the signing. I only had 10 minutes to like review the offer. Why? because in 10 minutes, the job will start. So if I sign, I will have a hard time turning back. It is possible though but it is not good for our records to show that I simply jump from one job to another. I wanted something that I really like and feel that I will take a long time to spend with the company. Needless to say, I admit it was really tough decision, I cleared my mind and had to think A LOT within only a span of 10 minutes. That was intense pressure. I managed to think it out and made the decision. I am now onto my most prioritized application. I wish that God would give me the guidance so I could ace this one. Take care!

A sign from up above..

Last night, I was on my final interview... Before I went there, I asked for signs that it is not suitable for me. And it indeed showed up. all of them, I won't be disclosing information as to what it exactly is but it has something to do with being fair to all. The process was good, I won't contest that but the end result was staggering and unbelievable. I never thought it would really go that way. To be fair with the interviewed, she did good as I have interviewed people before as well.

But the end result was, it was just fair to be given that type of offer. It's disgruntling to say the least. I'll be getting only 1/3 of what I get before? It's like I stepped back way past than the way I started out working. I did intend to step back a few but not by that much. The sign I've waited has come, I will continue to wait for the other one where I would get at least 4/5 of what I got before. A good offer.

Whichever path I take, I know I have the guidance of our Lord and my family and friends. Take care.

Losing Weight: A Revelation

Woohoo!!! As of April, about a month and a half, I have lost a total of 36 lbs. I was doing aerobics and controlled diet. I always do Turbo Jam for my workout and I follow the schedule provided with the DVDs. It's really entertaining and makes me very energetic. It was modified to have both high and low impact. I do high impacts to maximize results.

This was really good especially seeing that I definitely lost weight and I lost 9 inches off my waist. It's not bulging anymore. I am starting to need the use of a belt once again and shirts are already loose.

However, the past few days, I noticed I'm not losing weight anymore. Although I'm seeing a lot of definition in my arms and legs and I have the 2 pack out of the 6. I feel weak though. Then I learned that I'm working my body too much. Too much cardio. I practically exercise 5 days then just a single day rest. My knees... gave up. I can't go high impact anymore and I'm losing my metabolism. I then came upon the book "The Truth About Six Pack Abs" and I never knew I still did a few things wrong. First off, I need to gain more lean muscle in order to increase metabolism and burn fat even when resting. I'm now going into P90X, another beachbody product that focuses on muscle building.

I'll be taking a rest from Turbo Jam as it definitely took toll on my left knee. I can't jump as of yet. It hurts quite a lot just to try and stand up. Weight lifting and ab exercise will be my next program. Good luck to all! Take care.

Movies : Chinese Movies Galore

Well most of you may not have known, since 1997 me and my sister have been very fond of watching chinese movies. There are sub titles of course and it was in Star Movies Mandarin. A few years later, the channel was removed by our cable provider and made it premium. :D We have quite a lot of favorites like Jackie Chan's Supercop series, Thunderbolt, City Hunter and quite a few more movies such as The Duel, God of Cookery, Happy Ghost, and much more.

Not so long ago, maybe around 2006, we bumped into YesAsia. It is an online shopping site who caters mostly within Asia and provides Asian products globally. It's really really good to see some of the old movies we watched a few years back. I have The Duel, starring Andy Lau and Ekin Cheng, Love on a Diet, Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng, Conman in Tokyo, Louis Kou and Nick Cheung, and Future Cops (a Street Fighter spin off). These are some of the great movies that we've watched. Newer movies are most famous such as Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle, and CJ7.

All in all, I recommend watching these titles as these are very pleasing and may be to your liking. Have fun and enjoy the movies! (Note: Inset picture is a photo of my original copy of The Duel)

Internet : The Passion of a Webmaster

It's been nearly 8 years since I started creating and publishing web sites. I started out with a simple home page where I show a lot of facts about me and my interests. It was pure HTML back then, not that flashy as compared to what we can do today. Then, I continued on to create websites for my classes and friends / teams. Aside from creating web pages, I'm very well accustomed to Computer Programming in quite a number of languages such as MS Visual Basic, C++, FoxPro.

Now, I have opened a new website http://www.a-basics.com and the first I'm I've paid for hosting. I have a simple goal, to reach out to those who need basic assistance on a lot of simple stuff that we do everything. Things we can all share and do and a community attuned to that goal. It's still a baby and has not been that active yet. I'm looking forward to maintain it and its community. The passion within me will continue on and will flourish. Thanks! Please don't forget to visit my site and leave feedback. :) Take care to all!

A Work Ahead

The past 2 days, I've been applying for the best jobs I could possibly get. Here in manila, there are quite a number of good call centers and one of them was my previous employer. As of now, I have applied at ACS and NCO. I was a supervisor in my previous job and I've been dealing with quite a lot of admin tasks that I always get involved with other departments. One of which is recruitment, I started to learn how to think like you own the company and interview / hire someone.

I then started out my quest a 48 hours ago and accomplished quite a lot. I got into ACS first and managed to pull through. Although I'm on the final interview, I'll still be waiting for a schedule. The next one, I applied at NCO, this is my previous company and I've been there for 2 years and 4 months. I realized then that, I really love this company and wanted to stay with them. I followed the same instructions and alas, I'm on the final interview again. I'm now waiting for a final interview which I plan to pass with flying colors and get back to one of the best call centers here in manila.

Just some tips. If you're on a job interview, don't be scared. It's ok to be nervous but be nervous before you go into the interview. During an interview be professional and casual all the time. Be honest and show them that you want to be a part of their team. Show strong points that pertains to the position you're applying for and let them realize as well that you have what they need and you can deliver what you have. Good luck to all.