Of misconceptions, perceptions and realizations

About two years ago, I started working. As expected of a fresh grad, I was very idealistic, full of hopes and very naïve about jumping into the Philippine labor force. Earning my first paycheck, being able to buy all my whims and finally, living independently as a young professional were all at the top of my head. It seemed that the world out there was exciting, full of challenges and obstacles.
After two years, I realized I couldn’t be more correct. Indeed, the real world is exciting, full of challenges and obstacles. If I could just summarize all of my learnings for the past 24 months, this would be it. Comments, suggestions and reactions are very much welcome.

First, your boss couldn’t make you rich. I know many of us work and dream to be rich someday. If you are among this group of people, then please realize now that your boss and your present company couldn’t do it for you. You have to do it yourself. I hardly see employees who became rich by just working 8 to 5. And if there are any, I’ll be glad to know their secret.

Second, learn how to work with people. Maybe when you were in college, you were the type who didn't socialize a lot or was more comfortable studying alone. Well, the real world is entirely different, i think. Because in here, if you can't voice out your opinions, then you are wasting precious time. Remember: you have to deal with "strict" bosses, "gossipmonger and crab-minded' office mates, "nasty" clients, etc. Lucky you if you happen to deal with the "cool and happy" bunch. But if not, it's safe to know how to deal with all kinds of people. Oh, and if possible also, don't burn bridges.

Third, know what you want and stick by it. Perhaps the reason why many people are unhappy nowadays is because their focus is getting out of hand and they are trying to please everybody. For me, the secret to fulfillment is knowing what you want and working hard to achieve it. Let me use myself as an example. Right after graduation, I wrote down all my goals in a sheet of paper. I labeled which ones are short-term, middle-term, and long-term. Every time I accomplish one, I check them on my list meaning I've done it. It brings me sense of contentment knowing that my goals are being fulfilled and that my life has a direction. Try it. I'm sure you'll going to love it also.

Fourth, just because you're from UP, don't think you are the best. While it matters in the beginning the honors and medals you received while studying, in the end, it will be the skills and experience you gained that will weigh more. Be professional. Show that you're really capable for the position. Work hard. And if possible, work smarter.

Lastly, have faith. Whatever your belief is, I still think that it's better to hold on to someone Supreme. Life is not always a smooth ride, we all know that. It's best to know Someone who can help you in times of trials. Take it from someone who has been there.

So far, these are the most important realizations I've learned. Do you agree with me or not?

A day in the life of Mars

I start the day at around 5:30 am, but I only get to my senses halfway through finishing my breakfast… the first part of which is spent in half a daze and staring in space 'til my father yells me back to the kitchen.

By the time I get out of the bathroom though, I'm already full of energy as I start doing my morning rituals. By 6:30 am I'll be found rushing to the pickup point of our shuttle service, which leaves by 6:50.

I always like it when the morning traffic is heavy, because that means I'll get to listen to my favorite morning radio show (Good times with Mo, Magic 89.9, which always leaves me laughing out loud to the bewilderment of whoever chances to sit next to me), or I could listen to more rockin' good music at NU. Our company always excuses bus lates, no deductions.

By 7:50am we're already within company premises. I'm a process engineer in a semiconductor company (subcontractor) which lives and breathes pressure and has an unforgiving work schedule and pacing. So before I get into the battlefield, I try to unwind and laugh with a few co-engineers for breakfast at the canteen. I see to it that I get to give my friends a high-pitched, cheerful "good morning!" =D

I get into the production line by around 8:20am, and start working my ass off, taking a peek at yahoo messenger and blogs and my other online vices (all forbidden in the office) every once in a while. We only take a 1 hour break from 12-1pm. We work 10hours a day, 5 days a week. If you're lucky, that might stretch to as much as 14 to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and you can't even guarantee that you'll get a complete overtime pay. That's for worst case scenarios.

I'm quite new to it because I just had a lateral transfer from product engineering, so I still have lots to learn. Thankfully I'm starting to enjoy it. There's never a dull moment. Action action action… but after a few months or so, it can really burn you out and eventually it will be a test of endurance. (not to mention the disappointing pay that comes with being in the manufacturing industry)

So on a normal and not-so-busy day (which I hope just stretches til forever), I get to go home by 6pm, reach the house by 7:30. eat dinner, do the dishes, watch Tayong Dalawa and Only You, or try to finish up on my pending books to read. By 10:00 pm, my mother would be incessantly nagging me to sleep. It goes on til 10:30, when I start putting out my bedroom lights and turning off my computer. But I don't really get to sleep until 11:00pm.

During that time before I sleep I'd be daydreaming or pondering on how one day is just never enough when you have to work for 10 hours, (I always rant at how I never seem to get to do anything else at all because work just drains the shit out of you), how and when I'll get my lifelong dream of independence, if this crap of a schedule will ever get me a boyfriend, if I even want to have a boyfriend at all at this point, I think of my dreams I think of my plans and I fear that they might be too big or I might be too weak … what I can do to be a better person, and the list goes on and on and on…

And then I pull the sheets over my face and scold myself that I should sleep earlier next time… and then I dream once more…

Update to the Peyups Bloggers!

Let us welcome two more members to our webring, Mars and Pendong :)

1. B-side (e=mc^2)
2. jipre (Gelatin Silver World)
3. selenakyle (the cat whisperer)
4. rdangel (trends spotting)
5. leela (Pinay and money)
6. suicidedoll (melovesflying)
7. judz (Anooping and then some)
8. lateralus (Atheista)
9. PogingNilalang (conflict of interest)
10. boomslang (My thoughts exactly)
11. avalanche (Caffeinated Dreams)
12. romina (I-Speak)
13. mars (marsheemarsh)
14. pendong (ekstrangero)
    

Update to the Peyups Bloggers!

O ayan, it's official, isang dosena na tayo, wuhoo! xD welcome to our 12th member, romina!

1. B-side (e=mc^2)
2. jipre (Gelatin Silver World)
3. selenakyle (the cat whisperer)
4. rdangel (trends spotting)
5. leela (Pinay and money)
6. suicidedoll (melovesflying)
7. judz (Anooping and then some)
8. lateralus (Atheista)
9. PogingNilalang (conflict of interest)
10. boomslang (My thoughts exactly)
11. avalanche (Caffeinated Dreams)
12. romina (I-Speak)
    

Update to the Peyups Bloggers!

Isang dosena na tayo! Nice! ^_^ - Thanks rdangel for pointing this out, nadoble ng entry. Ocean's 11 muna tayo, FOR NOW, hehe.

1. B-side (e=mc^2)
2. jipre (Gelatin Silver World)
3. selenakyle (the cat whisperer)
4. rdangel (trends spotting)
5. leela (Pinay and money)
6. suicidedoll (melovesflying)
7. judz (Anooping and then some)
8. lateralus (Atheista)
9. PogingNilalang (conflict of interest)
10. boomslang (My thoughts exactly)
11. avalanche (Caffeinated Dreams)

A Day in the Life of B-side

Today I woke up before 7am. Usually, I need at least an hour to prepare whenever I go out. Two things that I immediately did when I got out of bed: made sure my brother was awake so we won't be late since we're both headed to Diliman and plugged in the heater which takes around 15 minutes to heat the water. I like warm baths. When I saw that my brother was already awake, I ate breakfast - which is usually oatmeal and bananas because I've stopped eating red meat over a month ago.

Ended up leaving the house at around 830am, not because of too much time spent on applying makeup or blow drying my hair - I rarely use makeup and my haircut's always wash and wear - but because...I'm not really sure; time just seem to fly by when I'm in a hurry.

The usual one hour drive was cut short to 30 minutes because traffic was in a cooperative mood. I arrived five minutes early in class; but not without my brother's errie display of concern before I stepped out of the car - "may hand sanitizier ka na ba? may gask mask, e , facial mask ka ba?"

After one and a half hour with intellectual giant Cynthia Bautista (she was a substitute professor), I spent some time with friends who were also part of the same class while I had my staple sweet corn at FC. We visited a friend's boarding house, had our IDs countersigned at the Main Library, had lunch inside the Beach House while we did some catching up. We parted ways around 1pm and I walked to SC with one of them despite the rain. I had a book alike of Rainer Maria Rilke's 'Letters to a Young Poet' made for my little sister and afterwards, walked to J. P. Laurel to look for the recycling center I read about in Peyups. My search led me to the Solid Waste Management Training Center, a few blocks from Lutong Bahay, and a DVD stall, selling four for P100. My search proved worthy, the men inside the facility were very accommodating and informative; I now plan to donate recyclable materials in the house on a regular basis - not to mention a new source of cheap thrills inside the campus.

I left UP around 2pm and headed to the mall to buy a bottle of Ascorbic Acid brought about by the AH1N1 scare. Originally, I was supposed to meet a consultant from the OPACC (Office of the Presidential Adviser on Climate Change) in the evening for an informal interview as part of my stint in an NGO. I planned on watching "My Fake American Accent" in Robinsons Galleria to pass the time. But we had a change of plans so I headed to SM Fairview. My trip to the mall was a futile search for cheap and lip-friendly pink lipstick (vanity was calling but I ended up not answering), frustrating grocery due to too much commercial products disguising themselves as natural and organic (where does a consumer turn to against synergistic toxicology?), and comfort food from a large mashed potato from KFC. I was at home before 5pm.

Tonight's dinner was steamed plapla with mayo sauce courtesy of Pinoycook. After the evening news, I lounged in front of my laptop - emailed a cancellation of my online classes on Saturday since I have a family event on that day, checked facebook, UPVC, Peyups, my blog and the Peyups Webring, and resumed my torrent downloads. Also had small talk with my brother when he arrived.

It''s now 10pm and I'm still in front of my laptop with the TV on (trivia from the Discovery Channel: jaw muscles are the strongest muscles in our body, our nose inhales 20 billion dust particles and the fastest sneeze recorded was at 110mph). Thursdays and Fridays require no early wake-up call since my classes are in the late afternoon so I have the luxury to just waste away in cyberspace until I fall asleep. That is until the demands of graduate school gain momentum again in the coming days.

A Day in the Life of Leela

5:15 AM – Leela wakes up to her cell phone alarm “I Love The World (aka Boomdeyada),” Discovery Channel’s theme song. It wasn’t a conscious decision to use a very optimistic and cheerful song but looking back, she thinks it’s a great song to start the day.

Every morning, without fail, she turns on the TV and watches Unang Hirit on GMA. She catches up on the day’s news, especially now that H1N1 is wreaking havoc in the country. Her work in corporate communication requires her to monitor the news about H1N1.

5:50 AM – By this time, she has already kissed her husband goodbye and has stepped out the door. She rides a tricycle to get her to the FX terminal bound for Makati.

6:50 AM – Leela arrives at the office. She checks the cafeteria on what breakfast it is serving. If the cafeteria is serving something edible, she’ll join the casual employees from her division. If it’s just hardboiled egg, she’ll forego eating breakfast.

7:30 AM – Leela checks her emails—office and three personal emails. She also checks the Inquirer and GMA News websites to read on the latest H1N1 updates.

8:30 – 11:30 AM – Work, work, work. :)

11:30 AM to 12:30 PM – Lunch with officemates

12:30 to 5:30 PM – Work, work, work. :)

5:30 to 6:30 PM – Leela travels from the Mandaluyong office to ABS-CBN, where her husband works. Unless it’s Monday (color-coding), Leela and her husband usually goes home together (or go to Trinoma).

If going to ABS-CBN is not convenient, Leela usually goes to Trinoma to meet her husband.
6:30 – 7:30 PM – Trinoma has been their hangout place since Leela’s husband transferred to ABS-CBN (it used to be Robinson’s Galleria). It is in Trinoma where they have dinner, do the grocery, pick up their weekly comic subscriptions, buy hubby’s toys.

7:30 – 8:15 PM – Leela and her husband head home.

8:15 – 10 PM – Leela de-stresses at home by watching TV, surfing the Web (harvest her farm in Farm Town), read magazines, discuss things with her husband (from the most mundane to the latest show biz chismis to money matters).

10 PM – Leela retreats to bed.