LUNEDI:

            I woke up around 9 am. There’s a storm coming, so the classes were canceled. My fratelli stayed home all day. I talked to Tyler. We talked about few things, like the new mummy movie and our conversation didn’t last that long, because I had to go and eat lunch.

           I just read the whole day, and went to the gym at four in the afternoon with Krissie. There’s a lot of guys in the gym, and some of them were drunk, and that scared the hell out of me. I got myself ready to give out a karate kick in case that some of those drunk guys try to touch me. One of the drunk guys asked me if me and Krissie were sisters. I ignored him, and I went with my routine. Krissie was a real sport enthusiast and very athletic. We’re done by six, and I went home to prepare for work.

            I went to work early, because I felt that something good would happen that day. I stayed in the pantry and read Caroline Miniscule. Vin showed up, and then we talked about books. I really love talking to Vin, because he’s damn smart. Our shift started, and we went on live calls. Fraya was there; she just checked how are we doing. Ray picked me to go live, along with other seven people from my team. I was on a live call when Ray approached me and asked me to be a floor support. Wow. Here’s how our conversation went:

RAY: Pri, wanna do floor supporting?

ME: Uhm, I don’t know yet. Do I have to decide now?

RAY: Yes.

ME: Didn’t you ask somebody else if they wanna do it?

RAY: No.

ME: If we don’t have somebody to do it, I’ll do it….but why me?

RAY: Because you’re the only person who’s qualified for that position.

ME: Okay, I’ll do it.

RAY: So, will it be okay for you if you report here tomorrow, four in the afternoon? And 8 in the morning the next day?

ME: What?!!! Okay, sure.

RAY: Good, I’ll put your name on the list. Thanks.

ME: Thank you.

         Ray left and I continued with the live calls. When my turn was done, I went back to my work system. My team were scattered, and they were talking to other teams, because they have nothing to do. I tried to keep myself awake and listen to Ray’s quiz game.

         The new floor supports were huddled, and Gotham talked to us. He told us what to do and encouraged us to set an example for other agents by showing up early to the next shift. After that, we went back to our work stations.

         We had an early lunch, and the gang went to Mcdonalds, but me and Hiromi went to Jollibee. We’re on the line, waiting for our turn to give our orders when I turned around and saw Gotham standing at the back of the line next to ours. He smiled at me, I said “hello” and he said “hello” back to me, and he transfered to our line. I was just shy to talk to him, but I

        Ray was so nice, and he let everyone do whatever they want. Some people slept under the systems. Me too, but to the fact that I’m a big person, I couldn’t fit under the systems, so I just dozed in my seat. I buried my face in my arms, and after several minutes, I looked up because I felt a burning sensation that somebody was watching me. That’s right, somebody was watching me. Gotham, the handsome Indian was about to tap me in the back.

            Gotham- who hardly looks like an Indian; he looks more likely a Brazilian- asked me if I was okay. My heart was pounding because he’s one of the bosses, so, I pretended that I was really sick. Ray came into my rescue, and told Gotham that i’ve been complaining sick since I arrived. Gotham suggested that i should be sent to the clinic, but I cut him out, and told him that I tried to go to the clinic, but the nurse wasn’t there. He left us and check other people. I heard that he caught Gio and Honey.

MARTEDI:         

        My shift ended and I went home. I tried to sleep, but I was so excited. I only slept for a couple of hours because of excitement, but I ran late, though. When I got there in the office, the huddle was finished and the AM informed me that I was assigned to Fraya’s team again.

          I approached the team, and Bebe introduced me to the team, but she said I need to give a speech. I told them about myself, and why I was there- I don’t know either, I just made up a story (I was there to do pre-evaluation calls), and I was there to help them also. 

          We started the pre-assessment right away, and there were many people, in my opinion, who will fail. They didn’t know yet the spiels for different scenarios, and they kept looking at me, asking me what to say if they encounter a “not-found” listing. Mein Gott.    

         There’s this Norman dude (not my friend), who was watching me while I was do the pre-assesment calls. He asked me if he could go next and I said yes, and we started right away. I think he’s good, and I asked him if he worked in a call center before. He said yes, and I’m not surprise, because he was really that good. 

         I ate lunch with Norman, and I think he was so sweet. I was almost done with my food, which were rice and pork steak (Mom didn’t cook anything, that’s why I was forced to eat it) when he showed up and sat next to me. He started eating, and just to be polite, I stayed with him, even though I was finished with my own meal. He asked me to taste his food, but I politely refuse because I had enough for that night. We went back to the floor after lunch, and I continued the pre-assesment calls.

          Before I left, me and Maan had a little chat wit Norman. He worked in ETelecare before, and he left because he wanted to finish his second course, which was BS Nursing, in Southville College. Cool.

          Gotham let us go early, because we have to report at 8 in the morning, the following day. I went home, forced myself to sleep, in order wake nup early the next day.

MERCOLEDI:

         I guess I was excited. I woke up at exactly 5:30 in the morning. I went to work an hour early. Gotham gave us the instructions, and I was paired up with Aladdin, who was very nice, if you ask me. Aladin was not a hottie or what, but one this is for sure: people like him because he’s funny.

         I wore my blue dress, and everyone noticed it, including Gio. I was like, “Duh, I’ve worn this dress for like, 3 times already, and you just noticed it now?” But I realized that they failed to notice the blue dress because it was paired with wrong shoes. I wore the dress with high heels this time.

          When it was time, the wave 3 arrived. Fraya, me and Dean (Aladin) introduced ourselves to the wave 3 of 27 people. Fraya went up first, then me, and then, Dean. I warned everyone not to call me ma’am because I’m only nineteen. But there are some hard-headed people. Yeah, they called me ma’am at first, but I repeated that I shouldn’t be called ma’am, because I don’t like it, they called me “ATE” and “MISS” which is ten thousand times worse than “Ma’am”.

         We started with the Process Training. Wow, good thing I was a floor support, and I had the chance to review again. But I think it’s more difficult to be the teacher than to be a student. Especially in my case, because I have short patience.

GIOVEDI:

         And what made my job more difficult was that lady with problem attitude. She’s a slow learner, but that would be okay, because it’s my job to train her, but she’s so difficult, you know. She doesn’t follow instructions and she’s very sarcastic. I was pissed off, and I tried to get rid of her by sending her at the back of the cluster. But that’s a wrong move. Because Choi, the representative from Verizon, spotted her.

         I don’t know what’s Choi’s intention, but I think, she intended to help Amilie. But Amilie is dumb to notice that, and she pulled again her silly antics. Dean approached the two, so I thought they won’t need me there, and I focused my positive energy with out other trainees. Hahaha.

         When I had the chance to ask Dean, he told me that Choi was pissed off with Amilie and she asked Fraya to transfer her to the middle of the cluster. I don’t know how did Amilie found out that she’ll be moving, and she asked me why. I don’t know what to say, and I just made up another lie. I wasn’t comfortable saying the truth, ad I know it’s wrong to lie, but what choice do I have? That’s an old woman, and I can’t find a kinder way to tell her. What am I suppose to say? “Uhm, ma’am, you’re transferring because you need more attention.”

           I forgot what I told her, but I was sure, that’s it’s another dumb lie. I don’t even know if I convinced her.

          Jeru, one of the new trainees, had a fever. I got medicine from the clinic for him, because he can’t miss the process training. Then, it occured to me; being a leader is like also being a servant. A leader should be willing to do whatever things for their people. That’s what I learned.

         It’s payday, and I planned to withdraw my salary in AFM. On my way out of the First Source building, I saw Fraya on the elevator. I was lucky, because we saw her best bud, Gel (a TL also) on our way out. They invited me for a ride (Gel owns the car) and we went to Home Depot to withdraw from the cash machine. Gel dropped Fraya in South Station. It’s a long ride to SM Molino, but I guess, me and Gel didn’t run out of things to talk about. Gel was funny, and I thought he was gay. But then, he told me that he’s married with three kids.

          Gel dropped me near SM Molino, and I went inside to meet my mom. Wow, I should wear that gorgeous red dress more often, because everyone was looking at me. Well, they’re looking at the dress, but not at my face. Haha.

         My mom and I ate in Greenwich. We had garlic bread, veggie pizza and lasagna. We saw Macky on our way out, but I wasn’t in the mood to stop for a chat, so I just tapped him on the back and waved. Guess what, he called me “Ma’am” too! God. What’s wrong with me?

         We went shopping, but unfortunately, I didn’t find anything worth buying. Instead, we bought a chocolate cake. I went home, mom went back to Woodstate.

         The boys were ecstatic because I gave them a hundred bucks each.

VENERDI:

         Last day of the Process Training. The trainees were so nervous because they’re having their assesment at the end of the day.

        I found out that Gopal would be my new head. Oh my gosh. I didn’t know what to think, because I’m really having a hard time understanding his accent.

        Evaluators arrived, and I was surprised that Norman was included. I felt the connection, but I shrugged it off. Can’t be, I told myself. But I accidentally bumped into him. He was about to open his payslip. And he was willing to show me!!! Haha. He showed me his payslip.

        I stayed a little longer, because I can’t leave our trainees. I started offering water to nervous people. I got tired of what I was doing, so I sat down and chatted with trainees. I gained new friends, and knew a lot of things about them.

       But for Maan and me, it’s a bonding moment. She stood with me for the rest of that evening. We had dinner in Jollibee. It was raining very ard that time, and we need to go back to the office right away, so we ran in the pouring rain. I was all wet, and Maan told me to remove my pants because she’ll dry it using the hand-blowdryer in the restroom. Haha. We did it, and we went back inside. I slipped on my Bossini jacket to cover up my “wetness”. I also pulled my wet hair into a pony tail, because it was ruined. That’s the first time I did that.

           We spend time goofing off with our new friends (JB, Ediboy, Weng and the others). Norman told me that he’s not 27 years old. He’s only 21. He was joking, but I bought it. Haha. Silly me. Really, he doesn’t look like 27. I always like to talk to him, and I don’t know why. Maybe, I’m turning into him for comfort, because my best bud, the other Norman had left me for Robert Arkay. Haha. Anyway, there are rumors about my best bud. You know, people think now that he’s gay.

        I’d like to stay, but it was already late, so I told them that we’re going. I reached home at exactly midnight.

me and maan

        Monday morning: I just woke up. I mean, I just went out of bed. I woke up around 8 in the morning, but I stayed in the bed and just read the book I bought on sale last giovedi.

       Last lunedi, my aunt went home. I went to the office, in 4 til midnight shift. The next day, my mom and I had a row. It’s just an ordinary row for us; we just screamed at each other and then, that’s it. We went to Trece to apply for a tax indentification number. When we got there, they told us that it’s the company’s job to apply for it. We just shrugged and left. Outside the building, I saw white corn, and I asked Mom to buy me some. She bought me three pieces. I ate the corn while we’re walking to Mercury Drugstore. Mom bought prescription for her high blood pressure, and we went to Jollibee for lunch. There’s no other places we could eat in, except for Jollibbee and Chowking. We chose Jollibbee because I didn’t feel like eating Chinese food that day.

          We went to a bargain store after lunch. There’s a lot of cute jackets there, but I couldn’t use those because they’re designed for Siberia or Mt. Everest. You don’t need that kind of jackets here. However, I still bought two fur jackets, plus a long-sleeved silk shirt.

         I went to the office, as usual. We had the same routine. You know, calls. After shift, they issued checks for those people who doesn’t have ATM account yet. I was one of them. Haha. My pay was two weeks delayed, but i didn’t complain. In fact, I was thankful that they’re kind enough to issue checks to people like us, who haven’t complied with requirements yet, for opening an ATM account.

Mercredi:
          I was up early because I had to apply for a postal ID. Mom didn’t go to work to come with me. We went to SM right after, and I experienced panic buying. I haven’t encashed the check yet, but I was ready to spend. Haha. That’s what I like about my Mom. When we say shopping, she’s ready to spend, too.

          First stop: Bags. Each of us took a bag. She got a pale pink shiny bag, while I went with a classic, creamy white. Then, we went to the shoe section. That’s the hardest part. With my gargantuan feet, it’s really tough for me. Girls in my country have small feet, because we descended from Chinese. I don’t know about me. I don’t know why I have big feet.

         Anyway, we found “The One”. It’s also cream-colored, just like the bag. The problem is, it’s three inches high. And I’m not used into wearing high-heeled shoes. I tried it on, and my Mom said the shoes look on my feet. I think also think so. Good thing, it’s wedge-heeled. We took the pair  with us, and we started to look for some clothes.

         I saw a red dress in Sakaya. The moment I rested my eyes on it, I fell in love with it. I asked the attendant to get a size for me, which is XL. Here, we don’t measure clothes by numbers (you know, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 12). She said that it would take some time to get it, and for the meantime, I could go and look around. I checked the whole store, and found something in Canadian Club. Usually, it’s hard for me to find clothes that will perfectly fit on me, and that’s because of my size. But that time, it’s piece of cake. 

           We bought several items, along with the dress, and I don’t remember what are those.

          Later in the afternoon, I wore the new dress in the office. Well, everybody noticed it. Everyone complimented on it. I can’t tell if the compliments were for me or for the dress. Haha. Rhea said I look better on that dress than in pants. I should be, because that dress is damn expensive. It costed me a week wardrobe. You know, they don’t really see me usually in a dress. Plus I was elevated three inches from the ground, because I was wearing the high-heeled, wedge shoes, considering the fact that I’m the tallest female employee of Firstsource already, without it.

           Poovaiah and his fellow Indian looked surprised when they saw me in the elevator. You know, because, maybe,  it’s the first time they saw a female employee as tall as them. Vin also told me that I appeared taller that night.

          After shift, I saw Bryan, and he was dead drunk again. He didn’t recognized me, I guess, because I stood beside him, and he looked up to me, and never said a thing. When I smiled at him, he recognized me, and he looked as if he was about to tell something about my dress, only if I didn’t said good night. Technically, it’s morning already, because it’s 12:00 am. I got home around 1:30 am.

GIOVEDI:
           I wore the wedge shoes to the office again, but with a different outfit. I went to Standard Chartered to encash my check, and I saw Darcy, a TL and M, a trainer, there. They were there for the same reason as I do.

          After that, I went to ATC mall, to claim my ATM card. Before going to the bank, I went first to National Bookstore. They’re on sale. I bought Caroline Miniscule and Worm in the Blood. I just finished Worm in the Blood this morning, reviews, tomorrow.

          I saw a yellow dress in Shapes, and I checked the price, it’s 1,399 bucks, 200 bucks cheaper than the red dress I bought the other day. I was thinking twice of buying it, because, if I buy the dress, I have to repeat wearing my other clothes for a month. And I can’t wear that dress twice in a month, unlike pants and blouses. So, I left the store immediately, before I change my mind and decide to buy the dress. The red dress is enough. It’ll be long again before I can wear it.

           I saw Hiromi Yoshida and Shan Acuesta on my way to the office. Like me, they’re wearing black also. Shan told me that they have a code name for Gopal, which was Mr. Lova-Lova, from Shaggy’s song, Mr. Bombastic. Hahaha. She’s right. Gopal speaks like that.

          We’re on our evaluation process, and we’re not doing that much in the office, so we played a game. It’s called “First Impression”. I guess, it’s one of the most played games in the office, alongside “The Hot Seat” and “No Truth, Just Dare”.

          You wanna know what they think of me? Here it is:

60 %        of the people thinks that I’m snobbish. True. But i’m actually shy to approach them. 
19 %       said that I’m a grade A nerd. First class weirdo. True.
20%        said that I’m smart, and an intelligent conversationalist. True.

           What bothered me most was the remaining 1 percent. Bebe said that she has a problem with me. According to her: First, I’m snobbish, second, I’m arrogant. So untrue. I maybe overconfident, but arrogant, hell no. Third, I’m tactless. So untrue. I’m straightforward. I mean what I say, I say what I mean. That’s how I feel, and I’m not afraid to tell how I feel. Fourth, i’m inconsiderate about how other feel. Why should I care? They don’t care about me. It’s all business, nothing personal. Fifth, she hates me. I don’t give a damn. I cannot please everybody. And she’s the only person who has a problem with me.

          I can sense that before, but I left it alone, since, I’m not guilty of doing her any harm. But one time she told me to shut up, that’s when I knew that she has something personal against me. I glared at her all night, and I think she noticed it. She moved from one place to another.

          And then, she mentioned it all out during the “First Impression” game. In front of everybody. Do you think that was tactful? She even said that she even cried when I glared at her, but she didn’t show me. Hhmm. I don’t get it why she cried, the first time she told us. But as she spoke, hint by hint, I got it.

         She cried because she wanted to control herself not to errupt, because if she wouldn’t do that, she’ll lose it and told me that she could do things that I can’t imagine. She said that she shoved a girl who rolled her eyes on her on her former job. Deep inside, I was like, “Are you threatening me? I’ve been out there on the court, training for basketball and volleyball for years, minus the fact that I’ve learned Tae Kwon Do and ballet when I was in highschool and you’re just half my size!” But of course, I didn’t say that. I should act professional, and I apologized, but I didn’t admit that I’m wrong. Why should I? I didn’t do anything to her. She’s just pissed with me.

          I’m not boasting about myself or something, but that’s the truth. I’m 5 foot 8, 178 pounds, and she’s just like 5 feet and 48 kilos. I don’t think she has a chance on me. For God’s sake, she should pick someone around her age (she’s 27 and I’m 19) and size. Haha. Nevertheless, I avoided trouble. If it wasn’t anything serious like professional careers at stake, she should’ve in the hospital now.

VENERDI:
 
           Judgement day for all of us. I had my evaluation, Billy assessed me, and I think he’s having some sort of hangover. You know, because he was a heavy drinker. I’ve seen him drink during Von’s party. He even tried to make me drink. But I’m tough, even to a TL, I wouldn’t budge. Still, i haven’t had the first sip of life. I just wish that time that he wouldn’t get back on me by giving bad feedbacks because I refused a drink from him.

           We did the evaluation very fast. It’s just like six calls or so. Honestly, I was nervous, but I was quite positive. I felt that it’s for me. I calmed myself down, went with the flow and relaxed. After few minutes, Billy declared, “Okay, you’re done, you can go.” I was like, “That’s it? Fraya is more harsh than you.” I got back to my system station and everybody asked how did it went. I told the that it was okay, and they bugged me out why it was so fast. I told them, “Uhm, maybe, I flunked?” Hahaha. Scared the hell out of them.

          We had spelling drills, and the Indians took few agents to test the call flow. Unfortunately, I wasn’t with them. It’s a good thing also, you know. I don’t like pressure. Poovaiah was wearing a crazy, yellow shirt. It must an Indian national  costume.

          Half an hour before midnight, we were huddled. At last, I was a DA specialist already. Promotion comes with a hard work, that’s all I could say.

         I went home with a smile, while others are weeping. One of those unfortunate few was Rhea. I felt no real affection for her, because she’s a loud person, although we’re techically okay. I know how she felt, and I was sad and sorry for her, because it happened to me in TeleTech. For now, I should be relaxing, while waiting for my next batch of students.

SABATO: 

           The previous day had been a drama for some people. I don’t know how to feel. One of my team members was gone. Nonetheless, I went home with a smile in my face. I ate adobo, rice and fruit salad before going to sleep.

           I called Krissie’s house, but her dad told me that she was in SM Molino. I miss bonding with that girl. Krissie had been a good friend for me; she’s my jogging partner, my teammate for several times, and food trip buddy. I texted her and told her to wait for me in SM. I told my mom that I had to leave the house because I have to change and activate my ATM PIN in SM Molino, and I’ll hit the gym right after.

          I forgot the old PIN issued by the bank, due to my stupidity. Good thing, we have mobile phones now. I called home, Mom was there, thank God it’s Saturday, and I asked her to look for the old PIN. She didn’t have a problem looking for it, because she knows where my things are. You try having a mom like what I have, who checks your payslip every month and burn your HP books when you’re sick, and you’ll never have a problem looking for your stuff. She even checks my cellular phone!

           Last night, I was telling my girl- friend that our common friend asked me to be his girlfriend via text, and the next day, my Mom knew all about it. She said it’s okay for her. Yeah, it is okay. But what’s not okay is to read my text messages or check my phone. I want to point that out to her, but I wanted to avoid trouble, so I said, “Mom, I’m only 19. I’m not in a hurry, okay? So drop it.” I know she read my texts, because there’s no way that she could find out, unless she checked my phone. She didn’t even know my friend, Janice, who was the only person who knew about that thing.

           I successfully changed the PIN. I called Krissie, and she said, se’s already home. She told me to come to her house, and I did. She bought baking equipments in SM, and she was on her way home when she received my text. She said, she’s a bit tired from running (she’s practicing for the Milo Marathon), so we took a nap for an hour. I like her bedroom. It’s huge, with big, soft, old bed, and full of Polly Pockets. Only, she shares the room with her sister. Mine is a bit smaller and neater. I like everything in pink, although it’s not my favorite color. I used to have television in my room, but I don’t use it, so we decided to sell it.

          After the nap, we went to the gym. The old crowd wasn’t there. Even the instructor was different. I asked where was Richie, and his brother told me that he went home to change his clothes.

         I taught Krissie my old routines, which was way far from what we do in basketball and volleyball. I guess, she was a strong girl, because she can do whatever I teach her. She’s a good athlete, you know… she just lacks height.

          We weren’t tired or anything, so we went out for a burger. Technically, the patty is beef, and I just found two years ago. I don’t eat beef, but I eat hamburger. Dad and my brothers don’t eat beef also. It just grew on us. I didn’t notice that I don’t eat beef and roasted pig when I was in highschool. Pork is forgivable. I do eat pork, but only if it’s in adobo, sinigang, dimsum or barbeque. If not, no way.

LUNEDI:

          We planned to go to church, but since we’re all tired, especially me, we just stayed home. I felt the pain. It’s usually like this when I stopped playing for quite a period of time and I do it again.  I read “Worm in the Blood” after lunch, and fell asleep. I woke up 6:30 in the evening, all muscles in my body were hurting. I asked my Mom if she cooked sweetened bananas. She said that she thought that I will make it. In order to avoid arguments, I just did it.

           We had rice, roasted chicken and sweetened bananas for dinner. It’s my turn to wash the dishes, and we all huddled in front of the TV to watch movies. We watch Romeo Must Die, The Mummy Returns and Ghost of Mars all at the same time.

         I like Ardeth Bay. So manly. Too bad he’s not in the new Mummy movie.

        Gotta hit the gym again.

          I had a crazy week. Here’s why:

         First, I had to undergo process training in order to be officially a DA specialist. It’s a crash course, considering the fact that we only have three days to finish it.

        After that, we had a two-day break; we just practiced navigation. I love Fraya so much! I’m so blessed because God gave me a very nice trainer, because she was so damn nice. She gave us freedom to do whatever we want. But instead of being rowdy, we just behaved and helped each other out in navigation. I never chose Raymond as a partner, but since he was the closest person in my computer system, we paired up. I think, he has problem with his nerves.

          Fraya told him to relax, because he navigates clumsily. But he told me that he’s not nervous or something, but I could really see it. Anyways, it’s not my business, but of course, I was affected because he was my partner.

         I thought, this guy was cool, but turned out not. In my opinion, it looked like he doesn’t like to receive constructive criticism. There’s also this one time when Rolly, one of the Indian trainers made a random observation, and picked me and Raymond. Good thing, I was doing the customer spiel when he did that. Rolly (I don’t know if I spelled his name right) stood next to me. I saw his beautiful eyes, but I couldn’t breathe. I was like, “Dude, what did you had for dinner? Rotten meat?” I offered him a seat, he laughed and thanked me and said something to Raymund. He was smiling at me, I smiled at him and  intended to flirt, but when I saw the wedding ring in his left hand, I changed my mind. Raymun got nervous because of Rolly’s presence and messed up. Mister Antonio Banderas noticed he’s making Raymund nervous and he said that he’ll go. He asked me to teach Raymund even more and left right after. Then, I released the air in my lungs.

       We had some spelling drills, and Gopal was the judge. Crazy accent. We had a hard time figuring out how to spell the cities he wanted us to spell. For example, me, he asked me to spell Brewert. I spelled it as PREWETT. You know, it’s either they over-pronounce the R sound or not pronounce it at all. Gopal asked, “Is my pronunciation really that bad?” Nobody answered him, because nobody was brave enough to tell him the truth. If he wasn’t a boss or something, I’d say, “Yeah, you suck, dude.”

SAMEDI:

            After shift, we had this party at Von’s place. I wanted to go home, but since I promised them that I’d be there, I couldn’t escape, so I went with them. It was quite an adventure. Too bad, Norman missed it. I’m not a party-goer, but that’s one cool party.

          Right after work, we went to Von’s place. It’s really a long walk, if you ask me. We walked from North Gate up to South Station, and waited for the others in Mercury Drugstore. We had to right the railway trolley in order to get in Von’s place. I swear, it’s the dirtiest place I’ve ever been into. I wanted to cry when I saw the people there. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t help them. I just uttered a silent prayer for all of them. I asked myself, “Why it has to be this way?” Some people like Paris Hilton spends a lot on whatever things, and these people live like rats in a congested area. I just couldn’t help but to feel lucky and blessed. We may not be rich, but at least, I can wear some designer dresses, eat what I want, and sleep in a nice bedroom with proper ventilation.

          When we got there in Von’s house, I slumped on the matress on the floor and slept. They drank and partied while I was sleeping. It was 10:30 am when I woke and I felt hungry. I washed my face in the bathroom, and wiped it using Von’s towel, which was full of red, small ants. Ants bit me, and I howled with pain. I cried. I still shiver when I remember that thing.

         I left the party early. Von’s place was really neat, although it didn’t meet my expectations. You know, I was expecting a condo style, because he was single.

         I was excited because my Aunt Lisa (paternal side) will visit us. She came around six, and we reconciled. She’ll be leaving this afternoon.

         Today is the last day of the Process Training. Whoa. I’m so close to the real thing.

         We started the Process last lunedi, and my team was shuffled, but I still ended up with my friend, Norman. We had a new head, her name is Fraya, and she’s very pretty. She’s petite and cute, just like a typical philippina.

         I struggled in day one, and I’ve been caught snoozing several times. Haha. I didn’t take anything to keep me up, just like coffee, or energy drink, because I don’t really do that. Besides, I never liked coffee, especially the steaming ones.

        I think started to adjust during the second day, which was yesterday. I

       I really had a hard tough understanding the indians. When i concentrate, their sentences are grammatically correct, but the problem is, I can’t really understand the words they’re saying because it’s either they over pronounce the “R” or don’t pronounce it at all. Not only that, they also have issues with pronunciation of simple words.

         Here several examples of their funny pronunciation:

simple:               simpel
example:            exampel
settle:                 sotol
table:                 tabel
usually:              ushli
Illinois:              illio-ees
laboratory:         labortry
crystal:              crystool
people:             peepel

           and a lot more. I’m not making fun of them (because they’re my bosses) or what, but it’s really funny, you know. I’m not good, but they’re worse.  Indians are intelligent people; they can learn everything, except neutralizing the accent. One thing I like about Indians is they don’t allow anyone to interrupt while they’re talking. When they’re in charge, they’re really in charge.

         In the pantry, before all of us went inside the floor, I sat with Rose, and we’re listening to our bosses’ conversation to the next table. They’re telling silly and corny jokes, and I don’t get it why they’re howling with laughter. The jokes weren’t really funny, if you ask me. Anyway, Rose asked me if I could sit down with the bosses, and change the topic.  I said, “Hell no, even if IU’m the DAA manager.” You know, I’m really intimidated with those people who wear polo shirts all the time. Haha.

          Speaking of polo shirts, Puvaya wore his purple striped, long-sleeved polo again. I’ve seen that for the third time this month. Gosh.

         I saw Pau in the pantry, and I greeted him subconciously. Finally, why questions were answered and I found out the reason why he left TeleTech. He said that it’s too far from where he’s living right now. He’s a TL, in BPO department.

          I had dimsum for lunch (4:00 am), and I went back to the production floor and took a nap.

         I shared WBDS with Raymund, and it’s already daytime when I realized that my own system was working. Crap. I tried searching for celebrities’ phone numbers, but unfortunately, it’s all non-published. But I got my friend, Tyler Durden’s phone number. YES!!! But I’m not sure whether it’s him or not.

           We’re all dismissed before 8 am, and I dropped by at 7-11 to get caramel popcorn.

        I planned to hit the gym thsi afternoon, but it rained, so I canceled it. Crap. I had a lot of thing to do today, but it’s so cold that I just stayed home and watched Miss Universe 2008 Vietnam.

       I was hoping that Miss Philippines would snatch the title for this year, because i heard that she’s good. Compared to other representatives, her beauty is nothing, I think, there are lots of girls here who can join Miss Universe, but they always send inferior representatives.

       There’s nothing much to watch, to tell you the truth. i was expecting folk dance numbers, since Vietnam is rich in culture.

       I think, Asian girls were discriminated, because only two from Asia got in; one was Miss Vietnam and the other was Miss Japan. Miss Vietnam got it, becaues she’s in her “homecourt”. Thanks to Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori, Miss Japan got in. You know, maybe the panel thought that Japan can produce another winner.

         My favorite was Miss South Africa, but she didn’t make the cut. Alas, there’s no Miss Photoenic Award this year, which is the only thing that representatives from here can actually win. I mean, duh, we’ve been winning it since year 2005. We’ve got a total of seven Miss Photogenic Awards. I agree. Girls from here are really photoenic. And that includes me. Haha. I look better in the picture than in person.

         Oh, by the way, Miss USA slipped again. Tsk tsk. I think she and Rachel Smith wants to start a tradition.

           Anyways Fridays, Latinas dominated the top five, and Miss Venezuela won. No surprise. She’s confident and I like her answer.

          Whoa. It’s Saturday. Thank God.

          Well, I’ve been busy this past week, because of my new job as a DAA in First Source Solutions. Technically, this past week was only a training for me, and it’s all or nothing, like my ACE Training in Teletech.

         The training started venerdi, last week. There were three TLs in te team, and the rest were all DAAs. There were newbies and veterans, and I guess, I felt like a veteran, you know.

        My trainer was a big dude, and his name was Bryan. I think he has chinese blood. He’s very good, and somehow, cool. He’s very considerate and generous when it comes to giving breaks. He’s not boring unlike the other trainers.

        The training was supercool, and I think I recovered already. You know, TeleTech crushed my self-confidence by axing me out so early out of the company, although I learned so much. I should thank TeleTech, because I was able to apply all of the things I learned there, here in my training.

       I was able to show confidence this time, because i was successful into convincing myself that I’m GOOD, i’m just shy to show it. And this time, I NAILED it.

         And yesterday, it was the judgement  day for all of the DAAs. Everyone was so nervous that the room looked like as if someone was dead and we’re grieving. It’s so quiet. But Bryan, being a good trainer, gave us tips and motivated us.

      We had our lunch early, and after that, we started the Free Speech Assessment and the Call Simulation. The FORCE was so with me. Haha. Bryan asked us who wanted to go first, and nobody raised his or her hand. So he pulled out the attendance sheet and said, “Okay, I’ll base it on the attendance.” Oh crap. I remembered that I was the first person who signed. “Pri,” he said. “You’re up first.” I knew it. There was no room for nervousness, I guess. I stood up, smiled and convinced myself that I was confident and I can do it. I failed once, and I’m not going to fail twice, I told myself. Everybody in the room wished me luck. i thanked them and got out of the room to face the challenge.

        I don’t know if I was lucky or what, because there’s no Indian in the panel, as opposed to what Bryan said. You know, he said that Nidi and Poovy would be there. Haha, the Indians come in around noon, and it was quarter to eleven when I had my turn for Free Speech and Call Simulation. Lucky me.

        Bryan asked me a question, and I answered it deliberately. The moment I started delivering my speech, Bryan started writing comments on his “handy-dandy” notepad. It just came out of my mouth, you know. When I ended my speech, he slapped me on my left shoulder and said, “Very good,” stood up and excused himself to get something. It didn’t take him long, and when he got back, we started the call simulation.

        While we’re doing it, he was also writing on his notepad. When we’re done, he showed me his notepad and slumped on his chair. I slowly leaned to take a peek. Whew. No bad comments, all good. I improved. I was so happy. Bryan said, “Look, do I really have to coach you? You did a great job. You passed, go back inside the TR.” YES!!!! “Just don’t tell anyone about it, okay?” He said, when I was about to enter the TR. I said okay and when U got it, everybody started asking about how it went. I’m a “woman” of word, so I pretended that I don’t know, and just sat down in one of the swivel chairs. Everybody was still bugging me out, but I was difficult. Nobody got any information out of me.

        Von was up next, but I wasn’t worried about him, because he’s the most confident of us all, and one of the best students, too.

        Nidi came, and her presence made others nervous. That means another person in the panel. Well, I was so lucky, I guess. We had out fifteen-minute break and during our break, I saw Rose and Nidi holding hands while talking on their way to the pantry. Nidi is very nice, i could say. The first time I saw her, I was scared of her, because she looks like, you know, difficult and sarcastic. She and Rose chatted as if they’ve been friends for a very long time.

        When we got back in the TR, I practiced typing because I didn’t have anything to do. Miko started chatting with me, and my first impression of him just faded. I thought he was snobbish. We talked about our experiences being CSRs and he asked me some stuff about girls. You know, tips.

        The day ended, and so far, there were only two people who were in trouble. Bryan announced our work sched next week, and we talked about the celebration. He said he thought he’d pass for this because his teeth was hurting. I pointed out to him that he can use straw. He just looked at me and laughed as if I’m sort of freak. He asked me, “Pri, you don’t drink, noh?” I said, “Yes, I don’t drink.” And he said, “Oye, a drinking tip from a person who doesn’t really drink,” Well, that’s only a suggestion….

         After work, they all went to Applaya for a drink. i said I’m gonna pass because I don’t drink, and I took off before anyone sees me. Miko caught me sneaking out, and I told him that i have a lot of things to do.

        I went home, and I passed Denden, playing volleyball, using Krissie’s ball. I was so pissed of because she’s not taking care of it. I mean, she didn’t really care about it, por que it’s not her property. Ah, these people. I scolded her, and Charles and Yang just laughed at me. I was damn serious, you know, but they didn’t tak me seriously. They thought I’m just this big, naive girl, who’s not capable of doing anything scary. Whatever.

        When I got home, I went online and chatted with my friends Amil and Janice. But they have to leave early. Amil wasn’t feeling great yesterday, and Janice had something to do.

        I chatted with Colo and Neomac, and the rest of their gang. They’re so funny. But I sort off disconnected when midnight stroke.

         It’s Samantha’s birthday today. We just got home.

         Yesterday, it was my firstday in my Pre-Process Training. I could say it was pretty toxic, I could say, but exciting.

        I woke up around 6:30 in the morning, at the sound of my mom’s voice, saying, “Pri, you’re gonna be late, come on, get up….” and I was like, “Duh, ma! My work starts at 9:00 am! It’s too early!” I attempted to go back to sleep, but then, I couldn’t so I got up and just prepared.

        I reached the office just in time. Norman and I were assigned in TR1 while Karla was assigned in TR2.

       We started the day by introducing ourselves, and I volunteered to start first. We had so much fun, learning about each other. We had few group activities and had lunch right after.

       When we got back from lunch, Thermal entered the room the room with Puvaya and cleared some things to us. Honestly, I didn’t really get what he told us, because, like what I’ve said before, I’m having difficulties understanding Indian accents.

        When Thermal asked if we have questions, I raised my own question, which was bothering me ever since I started in First Source. I said, “i ave a question,” as I raised my hand. Thernal acknowledge me and allowed me to speak. I asked, “What if we don’t pass the training? Are you gonna kick us out of the company?”

        Thermal replied, “Why are you worried about that? I understand you perfectly, and I think you’re very good, and I don’t see any reasons for you to fail the training.” Well, he didn’t answer my questions directly,but I was satisfied with what he said. But raising a question first before the others scared the hell out of me.

         Von asked right after me, and Thermal just answered the same. Before he left, he told me, “You still look worried. Don’t be.” But I answered out of the blue, “I’m not worried at all. I’m not worried for myself, I’m worried for others.” Me and my big mouth. I shouldn’t have said that. Thermal cut me in, and I tried to cut back, but he didn’t allow me. That’s what I like about Indians; they never allow anyone to cut in whenever they speak.

        We have our typing test, and I sweat, I’m getting better… haha. Good for me. I’m a fast-typer, but I exceed my own record yesterday. We also have our free speech before the day ended. I was the last person who did the free speech.

        While waiting for our turns, we played a game. Von facilitated the game; it’s just like question and answer, you know. But the exciting part of the game was we get to ask whatever we wanted; whether it’s personal or professional. When it’s my turn to ask, I asked Gringo, “How would you react if I ask you to go out with me?”

         i guess I aroused the interest of the people. Von complimented on it and said, “Now, that’s a real question.” But you know what, I hated the answer of Gringo.

        Gringo replied, “No offense meant to you, Pri, but I won’t, because I like thin girls.” Duh, I was asking how would he react, not what would he say. I repeated my question, and I think he got that right when he said, “Of course, I head will swell.”

       We went on with the question and answer game, I had several chances to ask. My question for Arkay was, “Do you think you’re sexy or handsome?” and for the girl wearing gray jacket was, “Which among the boys here best describes your type?” Her boyfriend was there with us, but I pointed out to her that she can’t choose her boyfriend. Well, she chose Vin.

        But the Harriet girl hit my nerve. She was asked by someone, “Choose five people you’re afraid of,” and she chose people with excellent oral communication skills, because she was intimidated by those people. She said, “Von, Jacke, the ‘kuya wearing orange jacket’, the ‘ate’ wearing pink jacket (me) and-” I cut her right away. I asked her why, and she said that that’s because I’m sarcastic (mataray). I said, “Yes, I am ‘mataray”, and guess what, she looked really scared of me.

         But before she could say a word again, I said, “By the way, don’t call me ‘ate’, just by my name, okay?” And von asked, “Pri, how young are you?” I said i’m just nineteen, and everybody in the room was like, “What? Are you serious? You look older than your real age.”

         When it was Norman’s turn to be asked, I was up for my free speech. Lucky him, because I saved my most controversial question for him. Haha.

        Bryan gave me feedback right after the recording, and I think, i got positive feedbacks, I guess, and I felt better. Just slightly nervous, unlike before, when I first tried free speech.

        I went home, and on the FX line, there’s this cute dude standing after me. I think, the little girl with him was her daughter. The girl’s name was Maya, and when Maya started throwing tantrums, the cute dude started singing to her. He sang “Always Be My Baby” by Daid Cook.

        I got home, at last. My mom wasn’t here yet. After dinner, I went online and chatted with Billie, who was pretending to be someone else, but I caught him, because he was a lousy liar, according to him. The boys went out because it’s Friday night, but they still found me awake when they got back. I sent Billie my pictures with my two brothers and went to bed after.

        And today, we went to Ellen Rose’s house to attend hr daughter’s birthday party. Her cooking rocks.

        It was my first day in my new job yesterday. I think I will like it there.

       Well, the environment is better there. There’s a lot of greens and fastfoods and restos are everywhere. I’ll never go hungry. My first day of work was just more of a welcome day, and I found new friends right away. I like the Perpes people, but they’re not the typical friends for me. And the company was infested with Perpes people. Haha.

          My new friends were Karla and Norman. Both were very smart, and not boring. Karla sort of reminds me of my dear friend, Erika Gojunco.

          I’m worried about my TOR, because I haven’t finished college yet, but Karla said not to, because it’s okay for the company. She herself hadn’t been into college. I was like, “And I was freakin’ worried!” Haha. Anyway, Karla graduated in Southville College, wherein my old school mate and playmate, Louise Ferenal is currently studying.

       I learned that the company originated from India, so I’ll be working with Indians. Poovi, who is an indian, will be one of my trainors, I think. And I’m having a difficulty already, because of his accent. You know, I used to be an English freak wayback highschool, and I could tell that his grammar is correct, but it’s the way he speak, you know. I’m not really used in hearin Indians talk, because, first of all, I haven’t worked with them yet, second, they’re not my favorite people in the planet, and third, I don’t watch movies made in Bollywood. But I could adjust, you know. I love what I’m doing.

           That’s me in the photo. I was alone in the elevator because Karla was signing up for her locker, and Norman was passing his requirements.

         I guess I won’t be chatting that much in ebaby anymore.

        There’s only one thing I have to say: homeschool sucks. Haha.

        I’m also glad that my brothers and I were close again now, because our adoloscent days are over. You know, the period when all people becomes irritable and unreasonable.

       

    

          Yay, my hair is growing back! Well, I just noticed today, when I took a bath. Well, it feels really good, because I’m not really used in sporting short hairdo. But I don’t really remember why I chopped it. All I could remember is seeing a pair of sharp scissors before finding wet hair all over the floor….

         And one day, my mom decided to bring me to a salon, wherein, she believes, we can find someone to help me with my hair. But she was wrong. The salon people ruined my hair. Well, it’s my fault, anyway. I ruined my own hair, because it’s me who cut it in the first place. They’re trying to fix it, but they just made it shorter. Crap. My mom was so pissed that she almost didn’t pay for it. Haha.

        Then, few months after, it’s still short, but it’s better now. No splits. Yay. It’s in the hibernation stage, and I’m taking care of it my using conditioner. Mom told me to use conditioner before, but I was skeptic. I said, my hair would be fine, it’s always great, anyway, but then I started losing it, and I blamed the water. Good thing I finally used it.

        Last time, we lost 170 bucks in fairwoods. You know, we bet and we lost the game. You know why? Because we’re pretty unlucky because Charles wasn’t around. We never lose a game if Charles is present. He’s the best vball player I’ve ever know, I swear. Very versatile, elastic (I promise!!) and strong.

         I’m not saying that my team sucks. We’re all good players. The problem is, we’re not confident with Charles. He’s my vball hero, next to Krissie. Haha.

        The next, I had a hard time getting up, after playing so hard and losing big time. I had to wake up early in order to fo Lakeside for drug testing. You know, it’s a requirement in my new company.

       I saw Mia and Chen, with there friend, Jen, in the station. We made it just in time for our drug test. Xray came first before my drug test. I didn’t fill up the 60 ml bottle, so I had to wait for another batch of pee. Jeez, why don’t they just fill the bottle so that it would be easier for all of us? Well, the nurse said that it’s required by the Department of Health. Dang. Haha

       So, in order to pee right away, I drank almost a gallon of water. I nearly vomitted, thank goodness, I didn’t. When I peed, it was so clear. I mean, if you put it in a glass, nobody would suspect that it’s my pee. Its color is way far from the first sample. Better for me, I guess. I was cleansed up.

     I went home right away, and I pee, for like, every 40 minutes. Until now. Haha. In the van, I ate white corn, which is my favorite, if you ask me. I got home, and attempted to eat the “santols” mom bought, I couldn’t take it. Those are very sour.

      The other, while me and my brothers were having breakfast, I asked my mom why she bought santols, because she doesn’t usually buy such fruit. She said, “I bought because the vendor told me that his santols are sweet.”

       I was like, “OMG?!! And you believed that crap?” My fratelli laughed also, because they think it was funny. You know, what kind of vendor would say that the fruits he’s selling don’t taste good? Yeah, the stupid ones. And mom just laughed at it. Well, until now, the santols were still inside the fridge.

       I gotta go now, because I have a game this evening at Fairwood, and I have a lot of things to do. More later.

       

        At last, after having a long, depressing and very busy weeks, I finally bounced back to reality. But you know, I dread all over the fact that I’m growing up. I’m scared of it. No, haha, not really growing up, because when you look at me, I’ve grown up  too much already. I guess the right term is “grow old”.

        You know, I’ll be leaving the teenagehood soon. I don’t want that to happen. You wanna know why? Because I won’t be a prodigy anymore. I’m afraid that I’m not going to be always the youngest who make it. Crap.

        By the way, after eTelecare crushed my confidence by rejecting me because I’m still a student, I finally recovered and made it again. Yeah, you know, snatched a job in FIrst Source Solutions. It’s not that big from where I came from, but at least, I have a new source of income.

      That day when I applied, I woke up in the morning, very confident that I would make it. I went to my destination, and guess what, I nailed it. I’m actually starting on July 3.

       I made friends with a lot of people, and I’m becoming more confident with my oral communication skills. Thank God.

      And it was just yesterday,  when I went to First Source to submit my LOI, I saw Pau on my way in. I saw him on the elevator, and I was like, “Oh, it’s you! What are you doing here?” He hushed me down, and he was like, “Shh, shh!” I talked with my friends, and he got away. It’s the last place I expect to see him you know, in a lowly call center.

       What’s most depressing is the fact that Lakers lost in game six, leaving the Celtics as champions. Dimmit, I cried for them. You know, grieved with Kobe.

       And finally, my ebaby pals are gonna meet me on martedi. I’m excited…