And the Verdict would be...

1. "Public Service should not basically be just a birthright or as simplistic as a career change but rather, should be a worthy, noble burden or life's mission that one should carry on one's shoulders wherever he/she may go."

   
   

   
   

   

   http://www.clixsense.com/?3819350
   
   

   The impeachment trial of the Chief Justice is ongoing as I type this. Whatever the verdict, this should be the beginning of Change for my beloved country, the Philippines. 

   
   

   
   

   I'm all for change!

   <signed>

   The Callcenter Boy

   
   

   
   

   
   

A Kick on the Balls

Allen, my girl housemate could have been a victim of a snatcher somewhere in the wild city streets of Cebu, but she opted not to.

She had gotten out from work at a callcenter then dropped by the church as it was a Sunday. The incident happened on her way home when she got into a jeepney that ply the route between the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino and Panagdait, codenamed "03A". As she needed to send an important message, she took out her new cellphone and began pressing on the keys, when a young man demanded that she gave the cellphone to him as it is a hold-up. Apparently insulted at the thought of how easy and casually the hold-upper reached for her cellphone, she began a tug-of-war with the man inside the jeepney. Although the young man threatened he has a knife but since she's not seeing one, she managed to struggle with the man, petite she may be. Had she seen the knife, she later claimed, she could've given her cellphone right then and there. The other passengers were too surprised to react when it happened, even the driver stopped driving to watch the scene. Seeing a chance at her attacker's crotch while she was lying prone on the passenger seat, she let out a very strong kick, with her heels landing smack right on the dangling targets! <Laughs> Good thing the man was wearing a sportshorts/basketball shorts made of thin fabric.

http://a1625971.whackyvidz.com

Her forceful kick got them out of the vehicle and on the street near the Lorega, San Miguel market where they continued on; one of her high-heeled shoes (thank God she's wearing those, which is her usual fashion statement anyway, hehehe)left inside the jeepney that ran off a short distance away. Maybe out of the pain he got from the kick, the attacker gave up on her and ran away. The jeepney was waiting for her at some distance away. She got back on it. Although crying from the ordeal she had just gone through, she was very thankful she hadn't been harmed, not a bit. The other passengers were amazed nothing was taken from her, apart from her sobbing, crumpled clothes and muddy shoes, she was perfectly alright!

Something needs to be done here. No one feels safe on the streets of Cebu City anymore. No one would even dare help a hold-up victim for fear of getting involved or get victimized themselves. <TSK TSK TSK!> My housemate is one very lucky girl, armed with feistiness, good timing and with a bulls eye!

Till here, next time.

<signed>

The Callcenter Boy

A Funny Thing Happened after a Calamity

A tsunami scare made a multitude of people stupid in downtown Cebu City. It was an after-effect of an earthquake of about Intensity 5-strength that made all this possible. The earthquake happened just right before noon yesterday. I woke up to my room shaking as if jolted by an angry giant. Naturally enough I went to the most structurally secure part of the house and stayed there till the tremors stopped. After that, since it's just about noon and finding it kind of difficult to go back to sleep, I just watched a movie. Right before it ended, I heard some commotion outside. I saw people milling about in our neighborhood. Overhearing from the talks below (as I was in the terrace), I got words like, "tsunami", "flood", "calamity" and other kinda scary words of the doomsday..I was kind of like, "For real??" So I switched on the TV and got from the news that everything (as far as Cebu City is concerned) is ok. I went back outside; people still are kind of bit agitated, seems like everyone's readying up for something. Then the texts came from friends, etc. telling me to be very careful.. or to pack up some important things,just in case,etc...to that effect. Some were even texting that water from the sea had already reached SM City Cebu. I was like, "Huh? If ever that's true, there should have been at least a calamity siren or warning sounds that can be heard all around. Thank God I don't live near the center of city wherein I had soon found out everything went haywire. LOL! Even sane, practical people could have been affected by that very apparent mass hysteria it caused! Looking back i can't help feeling amused at how some poeople might have realized by now how silly they were to be falling prey to such baseless rumors of a destructive tidal wave.

Till next time.
<signed>
The Callcenter Boy

Patriotism is the Drive

P.S. A repost from my Facebook Personal Wall. I was burning with a love of my country when I wrote this.

‎"Cleansing" of the government is not a one-day affair. So do are the implementation of the laws of our beloved country. We don't need new ones, we have more than enough laws, the only difference is only the veracity and the drive to implement it all, and no one else should start but the Government itself. Nobody's perfect, there might be blunders, goofers, gaffes along the way; everyone is still learning, and in the process, it might take years to fully realize its goals but I'm just glad that it's starting right now in my lifetime. MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!!!

· · Friday at 9:19am

• 
  

  Nemia Da-al, Feammay Mascual, Aldrin Trabasas and 17 others like this.

Help for the Typhoon Sendong Victims

from website:http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate

I had arrived  in my hometown just a day before, when I heard about the flood in Cagayan de Oro City. I saw pictures and the devastation was extensive; vehicles being washed into rivers takes my memory back to the footage I saw on the most recent tsunami in Japan. Just less than 24 hours before it happened, I was at the airport waiting to get home; was even worried that all the flights to Mindanao would be cancelled but due to some fortuitious event, the expected Philippine Typhoon (codename: SENDONG) Signal No.1 was not declared till about 4PM that same day. I arrived at about 10 in the morning by the way. I was even glad I had beaten the typhoon on its path. I found out about the extent of the damage caused by the calamity the day after and it was overwhelming, aggravated by texts from people I know on that same day who happened to be located in the areas affected, with one very close friend in Dumaguete City, Negros Occidental who was still able to text me while she and her family were saving the things they still can grab. Good thing she saved her cellphone first, that way she was able to let her friends know otherwise we would all be very worried.   

In this connection, let us extend our hands to the people not only in Cagayan de Oro (the area with the most number of deaths) but also to all the areas affected. This is the first time parts of Northern Mindanao and Visayas have experienced this kind of tragedy as normally these areas are not on the usual path of typhoons.  

=============================================
I am posting here some websites links for ways we can help:

http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate  >>> Philippine Red Cross website

http://www.istorya.net/forums/general-discussions/460987-istorya-net-operation-sendong-donation-drive.html  >>>  iStorya.net forum

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=261131883947025  >>> Facebook page

http://naffaausa.org/typhoon-sendong-how-you-can-help-with-donations-and-information/  >>> National Federation of Filipino American Associations


Let us do our part. Let us make Christmas ever more the season of sharing and giving.

Redeem the Callcenter Boys and Girls!

A callcenter that mainly supports U.S. customers starts on either 8 P.M. (if it's daylight saving time) or 9 PM and closes variably between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. if it's not a 24-hour support. So it was basically a complete 360-degree turnaround for someone who's a day person like me especially when I was still starting. I even at one point, started calling myself a "vampire" because I was always wearing shades during daylight whenever there's a dire need to go out to buy or do something out of the dark comforts of my bedroom. <LOL>. With these struggles and then some, I have been thinking about how it feels to carry the "callcenter boy/girl" tag on our foreheads. Not that the big eyebags or stressed/distressed faces are enough to justify the stresses this kind of job brings, but there are a lot more things that we in this field, should be more concerned about.

1. Fewer quality time with family members and/or loved ones could really take a toll on the relationships. I have known people in the business who have had been happy at some point, but got separated; among any other reasons for the break-up, but I believe HAVING TIME for each other is basically the most important factor in any relationship.

2. Then there's this larger risk of getting held-up by criminals while on the way to work, especially at night. And it is a fact that callcenter boys and girls are a significant percentage of victims of these good-for-nothings. We can read all that in the papers. The "Callcenter rep" or "callcenter agent" moniker seems to be equated with lots of money. 

3. And very importantly it's also very sad to note that callcenter agents, according to studies done by authorities, are also prone to promiscuity and Sexually Transmited Diseases which in a way degrades the profession and seem to demote it on the level of low-lifes and deemed dirty and not desirable. I guess being away physically from a loved one or the lack of intimate human touch almost everyday might be one of the factors for it.

What does this tell us?

That the callcenter people can be considered abnormal, not in the clinical way of course, but it's about like getting a bit more consideration and compassion from those people who lead "normal lives." And of course, we who are in this field should also be considerate enough to at least show to people the good side in us, that being one doesn't mean we have to be what other people deem us to be, with all those negative aspects. For me who have had the opportunity to start working in the callcenter business when it was not as saturated as it is now or hyped up, when the "callcenter boy" or "callcenter girl" was held in due respect, without tarnish on its name, I feel sorry for us. But it is not too late to redeem ourselves from all this bad publicity.

<signed>

The Callcenter Boy

ON PATRIOTISM AND POLITICS

Disclaimer: Dream Weaver does not side with any specific political affiliation and is supportive of the current government administration regardless of the political party the majority of the people it constitutes.

Image courtesy of Charlie Sindiong

ryanericsongcanlas.wordpress.com

I always have been trying to avoid politics in the course of my collective consciousness. I find it a very sensitive topic; it might even get me into a fight. And although I love my country ( I just cannot replace it with a Green Card or whatever color any other country may have it on) and would dream about seeing in the not-so-distant future our beloved Philippines as prosperous in every aspects, I personally deemed it useless to add to its miseries by getting too much involved in its politics. Not that I come from a political family, which  I don't by the way, but of just being a responsible citizen aware of all the goings-on and such. I don't need to be in the streets to join rallies to prove my point although if you come to think of it, I might even be more deserving to be there than some of those who had participated. For one thing, I pay taxes dutifully as they are deducted from my monthly earnings even before I receive it on my account. Not that I complain about it since it's my duty and I'm proud to be fulfilling just that. I don't need to be very vocal on my views, not because I can just write it <LOL>, I would only say my word when I feel it's more than enough and always make it sure that  its done in a constructive way; Criticism is not always negative and a good one does not take sides, you know. Ranting about the current government is not my thing, coz in the first place its not always helping. Taking some other definite and effective actions are, whether individually or in a group.

Working for a cause or joining a group whose goal is making the world a better place to live in is one way of helping and paying back society. Most importantly I guess, we all need to be aware of what's going on around us. Not just the bad things that we, a cynical hard-to-please lot, tend to easily notice and pinpoint BUT the good ones as well. What we basically lack as a people is our sense of trust in our government and we cannot blame ourselves for doing so, with our history mired with corruptions and exploitations by people we thought we had trusted enough to vote for them. But then again let's don't forget there's always another day to look up to things and be more positive and trusting. I mean, although it might look that majority of them might be less of what we expect, especially value-wise, but not all of them are like that. If there's bad fruit, there's always a good fruit. I also believe it is really good to attend conferences or invitations by our local governments and knowing about the plans our local fathers have for our respective towns or cities, because it gives us a deep sense of pride. Love of place is the root, Patriotism is the bigger picture. We would help our country, regardless of the leaders who are in position right now if we have it truly burning in our hearts.  
  

grabbed from:
 http://ryanericsongcanlas.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/philippine-independence-day-june-12-1898/

It is my ardent wish to still be alive when the Philippines attain its absolute prosperity. How about you?

It's The Most Wonderful Weather of the Year!

================================================

It's the most wonderful time of the year!(To the tune of the christmas song with the same title.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFtb3EtjEic

 

 

We are now having cooler weather thanks to the trade winds coming from the Northeast, the "Amihan". This is such a welcome respite from the hot humid one we had the previous months, and fewer storms and typhoons at this time of the year too!

The country's weather is at its best this time of the year they say, when the "-ber" months start. This is the time for longer walks in the morning even as late as 8 A.M. when we start to feel the good ol'e Sun getting uncomfortably warm every minute. I think this period of cooler weather ends sometime as late as March or even the first weeks of April when the hot summer takes over again. I also notice that during these months my head is cooler than it usually is, I get fewer allergy attacks (by the way, I have lots of allergies, which I would be blogging about soon), my electricity bill of which airconditioning occupies a considerable part of the consumption, is cut in half; people are more carefree than they already are and also, fewer crimes I guess. I hope I'm right on that last part. <chuckles> I do not think it is only due to the magic of the upcoming Yuletide season; I believe the weather is the prime denominator.

Till next time,
<signed> The Callcenter Boy

The Pacquiao Phenomenon

Streets were deserted. At times you can hear the breeze blowing, which you would rarely be able to do so in a noisy busy highway just about midday, unless it's a windy day. Was this Twilight Zone? An aftermath of a major catastrophe? But there's no evidence of a devastation anywhere. No really, it was all because of the Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez fight. You have just witnessed the "Pacquiao Phenomenon" in the Philippines wherein virtually all Filipinos are glued to the boob tube to watch the "Pride of the Nation" engage the next boxer who aspires to any of the boxing titles under his belt. 

http://5ad596bc.whackyvidz.com/

They say crime rate in the Philippines goes to zero everytime the ultimate Pinoy boxer fights in the arena. How nice would it be if he fights everyday! Regardless of what fight analysts and critics say about his most recent victory, the Pacman is still undoubtedly the best. And the best of him comes primarily from his humble heart and unassuming character.

A "War" Thought....

http://a2200fcd.ultrafiles.net/

Today is Armistice Day(Veterans Day). It was on November 11, 1918 when the Allied Forces and Germany declared the end of "the war to end all wars" so to speak. I guess everyone thought then that World War I, of which officially had ended on Armistice Day, would be the last and biggest war the modern world would have ever had but then World War II happened that lasted from 1939 to 1945, a much more devastating war with huge losses of lives. And then onwards, wars such as those in Vietnam and the more recent Gulf Wars mottled the World History annals like stains on pristine white paper. Smaller in scope but destructive nonetheless. <tsk><tsks>

As most of the western part of the world celebrate Armistice Day today, I get to thinking what other "wars" would there be up coming for us in the future.

Just a thought...