Happy and Engaged

I considered the office as my second home ever since I got in here back in 2009. I was part of the pioneer group when they opened a travel and hospitality account. It was a roller coaster ride ever since I got here. I'm proud to say that in less than a year, I got promoted. It wasn't easy because it wasn't even part of my initial plan but it was all worth it. 

Currently, I'm being retrained for the same account since I left them about 4 months ago and the manager said I need to be retrained. I was thinking that maybe if I was still an agent I would still have the competitive spirit I have back then before every time I am inside a training environment. Today it's totally different. I have a slight edge and I'm in a different position. I should be mentoring these guys. I should be guiding them. When I was told that it would be a 2-week training, the first thing that came to my mind was that it's going to be two weeks of boredom since obviously, I know the background of the account. I was wrong. It feels like I was rebooted. When i did my first mock call the other, there was like a flashbacks of everything that happened to me from the very first day I got here. This is my second coming. 

I was bumming earlier when I tried to Google the name of our company. I was expecting I'll get results from Indian websites since ours is operated by Indian players but I was amazed of how many stories I've read about our site. Gossips, hearsays, love stories and all those things common in call center setting. It was fun. It reminded me of my LOVE-HATE relationship with my company. Indeed, there is no perfect workplace. Issues arise and shit happens. 

I've tried quitting a lot of times and considered transferring for greener pastures. Nothing happened. I'm still here. I guess there's some sort of spell that makes me want to stay. I guess it's the unique kind of treatment you get from people that no matter how fucked up your day is, a random act of kindness from someone will just make it so easy for you. 

I'm still here for no particular reason. It's magic. I have a family.

My Professional Bumming Career

Let's talk about my Professional Bumming Career this time. 

I've been working in the BPO industry for less than two years now. Six months with my first company and then a year and two months with my recent employer. Honestly, the reason why I worked in the BPO is the fact I thought its the easiest way to earn money for any undergraduate like me plus the common idea I've had that it's just about answering calls and talking to some fat redneck @sshole on the other side of the planet. Two years ago, I was begging my dad to buy me a LOMO Diana Camera but he told me I need to go find a work and buy the god damn camera with my own money - so I did what he said even though it took me more than a year to fulfill my dream of buying that cheap camera. 

I enjoyed my first few months with my first company. My passion for learning is just incomparable. I was excited with the pay I was getting every fifteenth of the month, my new circle of friends, the western culture that the company is trying to inject, everything was great. But... I came to a point I got tired of it all. I was young, I was partying, I thought my ATM card is forever gonna dispense cash. I quit my job.

I became a professional bum for three months after that. Destiny brought me to my current workplace. I've probably had the same excitement with my previous employer when I joined my recent company. The only added thing is that I know I was here for redemption and I'm not getting any younger again. So aside from late night partying, eat-all-you-can/drink-all-you-can stuff, sex and rock & roll, I know I was in for a different journey. I've tried studying the industry and until now I'm never close to finishing my research. 

In less than a year, I got promoted to a higher position. It's funny because when I told my mom about the news, it seems like she has no idea about what it means. She has no idea about the rat race. She has no idea about how some people could sacrifice friendship, reputation, dignity and put everything at stake for that chance of a higher raise. She has no idea about the crab mentality that has plagued the culture of this industry I'm in. I just laughed about it. 

In my previous post I told you how unpredictable my current workplace is. I love it. I love the suspense and the adrenaline rush. I easily get bored doing the same old stuff so some reshuffling and revamp really helps me challenge myself. It keeps me sane. 

One day at work, I was introduced in a meeting by a colleague as the youngest supervisor in the company. I felt a sudden unexplained feeling about the citation. Should I be proud that I have achieved such a feat so early in my career or should I fear that what I'm actually experiencing was just the tip of the iceberg? 

If there's one lesson I've learned in my less than two years experience being part of this industry, I think it's the fact that I've learned to pay respect to the unique stories of the 350,000 chess pawns that are part of this industry. Each have their own unique amazing story. Mine? I'm sharing it.

Ang Alamat ng Deliverables

Gising ng maaga. Kulang sa tulog. Ligo. Posturang-postura. Traffic sa Ayala. Pasok sa opisina. Kain. Bukas ng PC. Sandamakmak na email. Demanding na boss. English dito, English doon. PLASTIK. Sandamukal na deliverables. Stress na sa trabaho, stressed pa sa babae. BREAK. Baba ng elevator. Bili ng kape. Hithit ng yosi. Hingi ng kendi. Sakay ulit ng elevator. Nakasabay si magandang babae… pagtingin sa daliri, may singsing na suot. TOINKS. Bukas ang elevator. Pasok ulit sa trabaho. Bukas ng PC. Bukas ng email. REPLY. DELETE. Deliverable. Deliverables. Deliverables. Umiikot ang buhay sa deliverables. Tapos na ang siyam na oras, may overtime pa na kasama. Deliverables. Deliverables. Deliverables.

                

Ang buhay ko bilang isang callboy – hindi ganun kadali. Hindi naging madali ang umpisa, ang pagbagsak, pagbangon, muling pag-uumpisa, ang tinamasang tagumpay, ang pilit na pag-uumpisa, ang pilit na pinapabagsak – lahat, walang naging madali. Dalawang taon, isang industriya.

                

Isang malaking kwento. Isang mahabang paglalakbay. Trabaho. Gimik. Inom. Babae. Pag-ibig. Isandaang interview. Isang-libong bio-data. Sistemang bulok. Sistemang pilit itinutuwid. Mundo ng kasiyahan, kahirapan, ligaya at pag-abot sa tagumpay. Kwento ng kabiguan, pagbangon, pagkakamali at muling pagbangon.

                

Libo-libong pangyayari. Isang kwento. Ito ang umpisa.