Moving On...

So long.

Farewell.

Auf wiedersehen.

Goodbye.

I'll be moving permanently to my new cyber home.

Thanks for journeying with me.

God bless everyone!

Forevermore

I already wrote a post about this on my other blog, so let me just share with you this montage of the Perpetual Profession last May 1, 2014.

Let me cap this off with a few lines from one of the clerics who promised "forever" that day:

"But for a Salesian, this is not the end, it's just the beginning of our love affair with Jesus who has called each of us by name." - Bro. Donnie Duchin Duya SDB

How about you?

This morning as I was browsing through my FB account I saw a post from one my friends that goes "Ready to discern, ready to answer God's call." He is due to enter the seminary this coming June. I remember that I handled him when he had a three day stay in when I was still inside.

I'm so sleepy, so let me go ahead and wish you all a good night. By the way, here's a little something about "what's inside".

Tu autem Domine miserere nobis.

Agnes, Dan, Nathan and Juan

I know we're all familiar with Agnes Walewinder. Yes, she is the 'I would rather go hungry than eat Filipino street food again' girl who have heard so much about these past weeks. Her article became viral within a few weeks and of course, it drew a lot of negative reactions from netizens especially from Pinoys who are very keen when it comes to the local food scene. Not only Pinoys challenged Agnes; Nathan Allen, a blogger who went head over heels with the Philippines, also voiced out his reaction to Ms. Walewinder's article, to the extent of telling her to go back to the Philippines in order to prove herself wrong about Pinoy food.

__________

A few months back Dan Brown did the same thing in his novel 'Inferno' when he mentioned that Manila is 'the gates of hell'. Whenever he gets criticized due to his work, Mr. Brown's answer is always the same: that he worked hard doing a research for his novel (that goes especially for 'The Da Vinci Code' which, according to scholars was simply a poorly researched piece of writing and not at all a challenge to Christianity). I remember when a friend made an off the cuff remark about this "Andaming lugar sa mundo na mas malala pa sa Pinas, yung tipong araw araw may binobomba o binabaril in plain sight." 

__________

Whenever we hear a negative comment hurled at our country, our first reaction is to strike back. I would say it's natural. There is always this sense of 'Pinoy pride' innate in us. I don't blame those people who were offended and reacted negatively whenever our country receives a not-so-good remark. I think it only goes out of hand when they take things too personally and start swearing or use cuss words (especially what happened to Agnes Walewinder wherein her comment thread was filled with swearing and cuss words).

A friend told me that this only means one thing: colonial mentality. We are too eager to please other people especially foreigners. We always want the kano and the 'white guy' to be all praises when it comes to our country. We still want their affirmation. Why be affected with what these people have to say when in fact mas kilala mo naman ang sarili mong bayan?

__________

I've been working in the BPO industry for 10 months. Too young, you may say. I've had my fair share of racist customers who, at the onset of the call, would ask me  "Where are you located?" and telling them that I'm from the Philippines would usually result being hanged up on or hearing not so good comments such as "You f*****g Filipinos!" This might sound rude, but I'm way smarter than them that's why I was the one who got their call so I can assist them in something they know nothing about. I just let these things pass. At the end of the day, the not-so-good comments they hurl at me for being a Pinoy won't make me less of a person. I may talk in English for 7 hours straight, but it won't make me less of a Filipino.

"Filipinos: Don't try to be more like us, try to be more like YOU. I believe what the world needs now is more YOU, not more us." (Nathan Allen)

Start of something new

I've been away from my cyber home from quite some time and since it's my day off, I thought it would be nice to start writing again before stress eats me up.

Anyway, it's been almost a month since I made my last entry. Some friends kept on asking me if I stopped blogging for good. I just told them that I was so busy that I don't have time to sit down and write. Good thing I had lunch with two of my best buddies a few weeks back and our conversation triggered the story teller in me to write again.

A lot of things happened during the past weeks. Everything seems new and exciting for me that I always have a hard time sleeping. Here are some of the things that keep me awake these days:

First, I said goodbye to my previous account. No, I did not resign from the company. I got transferred to a new account that handles only one LoB (line of business). What's good about the transfer (well, my boss told me it's not a transfer but a promotion) is that I got a raise. It's not that big, but it's worth something. Handling this new account meant being a trainee again and feeling like a newbie even though I've been taking in calls for the past nine months. Navigating my way through a new set of tools is a little confusing, but I told my self that I also started that way back in my previous account. I just need some time and guidance from some of the higher ups. My new team mates and I will start taking calls tomorrow, so please pray that everything would turn out fine.

(Working for a new account, signing up for a policy,
publishing a book and deciding to lose weight)

Second, I finally signed my policy. Ever since I started working the first thing that popped into my mind was to have my own house. Hopefully the policy would help me buy my own house a few years from now.

Third, 'Musings From The Seedbed' is finally out. No, it's not yet released to major bookstores but hey, I have to admit, the articles are good that the book is worth being published big time and placed on shelves reserved for best sellers. People tell me that I'm good at writing, but it's not as good as the articles in 'Musings'. Since you're reading this, thank the book's author since he's the one who encouraged me to write. If Bob Ong's 'ABNKKBSNPLako?!?' became a best seller and was turned into a movie, I bet 'Musings' would also be one once it gets published big time. If it would be adapted into the big screen, I'm sure it would be at par with JesCom's 'Be Mine Again' if we're speaking about vocation promotion.

Fourth, I've started my own program to lose weight. A lot of people at work told me that I'm getting big, and the people here at the house and most of my friends share the same sentiment. Aside from that, I noticed that I get tired too easily. Justin, my financial advisor, took me for an early futsal game a few weeks back. We were only playing for fifteen minutes and my body felt like I was playing for two hours non-stop. My lack of exercise and balanced diet (plus the stress at work) finally took its toll on me. Since I don't want to end up having a funeral of my own at a young age, I decided to come up with a program to stay healthy. And on top of the list, that would mean saying goodbye to junkies.

Ecclesiastes 3 says that there is a time for everything. Well, I guess this a time for some changes. Working for a new account, signing up for a policy, publishing a book and deciding to lose weight; these are some of the changes that happened within a span of two weeks. It just shows that, just like what my friend once told me, life is full of transitions. And believe me, these transitions are God's little ways of telling us that no matter what happens He is in charge.

I have learned not to fear change. It's always for the good.

"I don't know what tomorrow will bring. But whatever it is, I'm looking forward to it." - Daniel Harrington, SJ

Yes, He is everywhere

I have a severe bout of flu and for the past two days my aching body has been telling me to take some time off and rest. I feel a little better since I’ve been taking my meds. Hopefully tomorrow or the day after that I’ll be back to my normal self.

(The figurine my friend found in a pile of trash)

A friend mentioned in his Facebook account that he found a figurine of the child Jesus. He saw it in a pile of trash and even accidentally kicked it while he was walking home. He was so happy that he managed to salvage such a precious item. It reminded me of the wooden cross that I found floating while I was having an afternoon swim in Boracay about ten years ago. The wooden cross is now on our family altar.

Last night I was walking to the bus station when a boy walked up to me selling sampaguita. He kept on pestering me to buy the flowers but I told him that persuading me would not work. He walked away. Before walking down the bridge that leads to the bus station, I saw the boy again. He was tucking in his little brother. Then it hit me: this kid is already carrying the world in his shoulders. I wanted to approach the boy, but I felt so sorry for him that I simply continued to walk and rode a bus.

Going back to my friend, he took home the figurine. I don’t know if the original owner threw it away on purpose or by accident. Whatever the case may be, the figurine managed to find its way to have a new owner and it is now in my friend’s hands. In cases like this, some people would call it serendipity. Others would even go to the extent of calling it a miracle.

Everything happens for a reason. There’s a reason why my friend, of all the people who passed by that pile of garbage, was the one who found the figurine and only he can figure what that reason is. For me, I believe the reason why I saw my friend’s post concerning the salvaged figurine is this: to remind me that even in the lowliest of all places, even in a pile of garbage we all deem useless and done with, God is there. He is there in the beautifully decorated altar. He is there in the squatter’s area breaking bread with the poor.

Today is the feast of the Presentation. Barely a month old, Jesus was presented to the temple in accordance with the law that every male shall be consecrated to the Lord. Simeon, a righteous and devout man, took Jesus into his arms and uttered the Nunc Dimittis (Latin for “now you dismiss” or commonly known as “Simeon’s Canticle:). From Simeon’s song we can come to a conclusion that the Lord, as early as being a month old, is already carrying the world in his shoulders. His mission is to be “a light for revelation for the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

A friend asked me where could he find God. Obviously, my first answer was “In the Church.” But I realized that the Church is His first place of manifestation. Once we go out, we’ll see Him everywhere.

The little boy selling sampaguita, the baby Jesus presented to the temple and the salvaged figurine. They are all clear manifestations to me that He is present everywhere and in everyone. Just like good old Simeon, all we have to do is to patiently wait and open our eyes. For all you know, He is the little kid knocking on your car’s window.

LoQ (Line of Questions)

"Oh hi, I'm having an error message on my television."

"What does it say?"

"It says 'ONE MOMENT PLEASE, THIS CHANNEL WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY.'"

"Please stay on the line, let me check on that."

(pulls up troubleshooting tool and opens the LoQ)

Line of questions. Call center agents like me are very familiar with this. Of course, we need to probe whenever a customer calls in. That way we will know better what is happening with the piece of equipment or issue that we are trying to resolve. We ask in order to get a better picture of what is going on on the other end of the phone line. Well, probing actually isn't enough. Yes, we more or less know what to do when a customer calls in and tells us what the problem is. But we don't know everything. We still need to use the LoQ tool in order to be sure that what we are doing is correct. If we miss one step in doing a basic troubleshooting step, then it might lead to a technician visit. Instead of having the problem fixed at during the phone call, the customer needs to wait for a few days for the technician to come out. See how important it is for us to follow the LoQ?

The other day I found out that LoQ usage is already a part of our score card. To be honest, I'm the type of agent who is fond doing a "work around". I would only pull up and utilize my LoQ tool if my work around failed. It would lead to longer troubleshooting and a longer call. Bottom line: the LoQ is designed not to be an add-on to the agent's tool but to serve as an aid.

I realized that life can be likened to a problematic customer who calls their service provider. The agent on the other line has the LoQ, and we have to follow what the agent tells you. Sometimes we complain "Do I really have to do this? Why not send me a technician instead? I'm paying for the service anyway!" We have the tendency to look for the easy way out. We don't want to do life's basic "troubleshooting steps." I'm guilty of this. If you read my previous entries, you'll realize right at the start that I want my problems to simply vanish into thin air. For me, life is just a bowl of cherries. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Yes, it's true. Life is meant to be enjoyed but I also realized that in the course of the daily grind, we need to take risks. And mind you, taking risks aren't always successful. Failure is just around the corner, but it's not tantamount to being eaten up by it. Failure is there to teach us to stand up and go on. Remember when you were a kid? Mommy was on the other end of the room saying "Come here baby!" We fall, but then she would say "Get up baby, mommy's here!" When we manage to reach the other end of the room where she's waiting, she would hug you and say "Good job baby. I love you!"

One valuable lesson I learned from the LoQ tool: take your time to go through life's problems. I was looking for a perfect world, not realizing that I myself am not perfect. I was looking for a world free of problems, not realizing that I myself am contributing to the problems of the world. I was crying for change, yet I am not willing to start it with my self.

Sometimes I cry whenever I think back of all the faux pas that I did. I guess it's normal, but as they say, never cry over spilled milk. Past is past. We all need to move on, one step at a time. The calendar never reverts back to the previous day nor does the date jump two days ahead and the clock never runs backwards or in advance.

Well, I guess the clock is an exception if you observe daylight savings.