job
A Hacker’s Outgrowing
I’m finally free; thank God it’s over – not the words you’d expect from a person who always wanted to be a writer for a profession. But if you were in the shoes of the one saying that, you’d say that no truer words have been spoken. Because ever since things changed for the corporate good, which meant worse for creative people like me, for us “millennials”, I knew I had to leave. Except I didn’t, as I was cash-strapped, so I stayed for three more months. At first I thought I was overstaying my welcome, only to slowly realize that I exited at the perfect time as my last day got nearer. And now that I am officially an ex-employee of my previous company, after going through many unforgettable highs and lows, I can now confidently say that it was one of my best runs so far.
The end began in the middle, around late August. It was a time of great upheaval, of talks about the turning of the company into a corporate one, of barely legal and grossly anti-employee contracts, and the enforcement of pointless laws. All of these changes were detrimental to our productivity and pride as young professionals, so a sudden mass exodus began. Many of the co-workers who I have become friends with over the span of a year were leaving one by one at a rate that made the management bothered and us happy for each other’s hastened arrival to greener pastures. It was officially the end of the company’s “golden age”, as freedom and happiness with work was replaced with shackles and grumbling.
Back in the old days, we used to believe in freedom – granted that we are held accountable for how it’s used – and the lack of need for supervision. Apparently, when I left, we still do, as it’s still part of the company vision/mission, whatever the hell that is, but that’s just what’s written on the walls and not what was still happening. Flexible schedule became a thing of the past. Work from home required top-level permission before it can be granted. Our output, instead of speaking for themselves, were regularly checked. We have begun using Slack, a chat site/program that allows the team lead to read every conversion, including those between the employees. And last but not least, on a more personal level, I cannot sit beside the girl I like, as it is detrimental to work even though it isn’t, and posting on Facebook anything that can be interpreted as against the company or any of its higher-ups, regardless of whether it’s actually them or otherwise, is a big deal and therefore punishable by public shaming in the guise of transparency and the upholding of respect, honor, and the company name.
Basically, everything that made the company feel so welcoming to millennials like us, made me want to work there, and made it unique was gone. And because even mere traces of such things can no longer be found in it, I had to leave, even if my-now girlfriend (more on that later on) is still there. It saddens me that what was once special has become part of the statistics, one of the thousands of startups that promised to bring something new to the table, only to end up as one of the businesses they promised they are not and will never become.
In the pursuit of my passion, writing, I joined that company, which looked and felt different, and promised me a way of doing work that is more laissez-faire and provides room to be myself and grow. That seemed true during the first half of my stay, then it no longer was by the second one. I still had hope that it would be true once again, but the bullet to the head of that wishful thinking is what our boss said, which is something along the lines of “passion will lead you nowhere. And you’re not special; you’re just a statistic”. ASSHOLE! IT LED ME TO HIS COMPANY, WHICH LED ME TO A JOB THAT GETS ME PAID FOR BEING A WORDSMITH, TO FRIENDS I WILL NEVER FORGET, AND THAT ONE GIRL I LOVE! AND TELL ME THAT EVERYONE I MET ALONG THE WAY IS JUST ANOTHER STATISTIC!
He traded something he once believed in and made us believe in for something as cheap as the socially accepted definition of success. Nevertheless, he was right – was, not is, because he is now wrong; following our hearts and our passions will lead to our own respective definitions of success, and mine happens to be fulfilling my dream as a writer, having true friends, and finding love. ALL OF THOSE THINGS DID HAPPEN, AND IRONICALLY BECAUSE OF HIM! So Sir, thank you from the bottom of my heart, for everything. I guess I shouldn’t be mad at you despite all that crap I had to go through because of your ridiculous mindset, because in the grander scheme of things, I owe you so much.
Looking back, I realized that I have become successful in the most serendipitous way possible. That success, however, is far from complete. I still have to find a better job as a writer, I still have to spend more time with the friends I’ve made to know them better, and I still have to keep loving her. And in order for me to do those things better, I have to grow into the person I am meant to be, and that means leaving the company. So to all my friends in both the golden age and the new age, this is not a goodbye, as I am always online, and I am always with you in spirit that small office home. This is merely a physical separation, a growing out of the pot we once shared. Don’t worry, we’re still in the same garden, so we’ll still see each other.
So, save for Berna, see you when I see you. I want you all to know that even in my new workplace, which I don’t know yet, and even in your new jobs, which is already true for the old ones and will be true in the near future for the new ones, we’ll always be…
Hackers. 🙂
I Wrote Once Again Because I’m Done With Homework, But I Received An Email From My Boss Last Night So I No Longer Am
“FREEDOM!” That is what Sir William Wallace shouted at the top of his lungs before the executioner beheaded him. That is what truly happened…in the movie Braveheart, not according to history. However, even though Sir William Wallace is a prominent historical figure and has a lot more significance than I probably ever will, this post ain’t about him – it’s about me, myself, and I. And just like him, even though my head ain’t against the chopping block, I want to proclaim something…
LIBERATION!
What’s the difference? Well, liberation is a kind of freedom that you either receive or obtain. Some men are born free and stay that way until they die, while some are either born without it or lose it at some point, and so they strive to get it back. And once they do, it’s going to be much sweeter than the plain old regular freedom some men enjoy, as things you strive for are sweeter than those you don’t have to.
Yes brothers and sisters, I have liberated myself from the shackles of…work! Finally, I am done with the textbooks I am supposed to summarize, and hot damn, this “liberation” is pretty damn sweet. I no longer have any work to do for now, so I can do whatever I want to do. And you know what the best part is? I no longer have any thoughts of unfinished work to distract me from them. I can play Final Fantasy XIV and DoTA 2, read manga and novels, watch anime and movies, or even hang out (if I have money) without my brain telling me that I’m a lazy bastard who does not deserve to do all these things. Well, not anymore…TAKE THAT BRAIN! And don’t think about the next batch of work…yet.
Unfortunately, much as I hate to agree with it, my brain is right – what about the next batch of work? Heck, I ain’t even done yet with the nitty-gritty details of the current batch, and I just received an email from my editor telling me to pick up the next batch of work later at 5PM AND to edit my summaries according to how my first ten summaries were edited because the errors were recurring. OH GREAT! JUST PERFECT! I don’t even how to do my own damn work right, now I have to edit it, I also have to do at least twenty!?
<insert cusses here>
So much for liberation and doing what I want to do. Seriously, this is the worst job I ever had; it’s difficult. time-consuming, and demanding. Sure, it’s home-based so I spend absolutely nothing and don’t get tired from commuting, but my brain has never been this tired since…ever. And from all this work, what do I get? Since I was only able to do 100 textbooks in a span of three weeks, and one summary is worth Php 30, I get a whopping 3-freaking-grand. Yeah, I don’t have to spend utilities from this sum, but what I previously earn, while not exactly big, is definitely bigger, and I only have to wait two weeks for it. Well, yeah, I have to spend some of it for food, fare, and other luxuries, but what is left from all of that is almost the same amount, if not slightly less. In short, this work ain’t worth it when I factor out the workload and pay; the only thing that’s good about it is that I don’t have to leave the damn house, although I think that also has become a bad thing because now I am stressed in my own home. Wow James, it’s only been three weeks and you already hate your job; that’s a world record. You know what that means…PARTY TIME! Bring out the alcohol, the weed, and the babes, play some Pitbull, get wasted, high, and laid…SCREW WORK!
Not really…
So, what now? The pay is crap; the workload is heavy. Well, I guess I’ll stick around until they give me the damn boot. They’re gonna have to, ’cause they’re making me do twenty summaries a day from Monday to Saturday. First off, ten summaries is already a killer, how much more with twenty? And no, I ain’t doing jack on Saturday. Whatever, so what if they fire me, I don’t care, ’cause I got a pending grad school application. If that fails, I can find other work anyway. I’ll probably have to leave the house every day and spend for fare and food, but as long as the job ends at the workplace, I got time to do what I want to, and the pay is worth the workload, I’ll take it.
P.S.: I went to my boss and told him that I ain’t sure if I can do twenty a day and I’ll quit if I can’t, ’cause even though the damn job ain’t worth it, I don’t want them expecting something from me only to let them down in the end. I’m badass, but I ain’t heartless. Anyway, he told me that he’s just going to have to see how it would turn out.
Seriously, if grad school doesn’t take me, I’ll be a broken compass.
I Haven’t Been Writing Lately Because I Got Homework
Finally, I have returned. It’s been awhile. Did you miss me? Probably not, but I don’t care, because the important part is that I and my mistress, which is this blogsite, missed me. And now that I am back from my absence, it is time to once again make sweet love and sweet art according to how I, not how my editor or my new boss sees fit. Witness the return of true passion and beauty.
Hiyori, you’re cute and all, but not now…
After turning down the offer of TalkShop, which I deeply and gravely regretted, I frantically looked for a job. Not just any job, but a writing job. Thankfully, I found one, and fortunately it’s home-based. Unfortunately, it’s not what I thought it was, the pay is on a per-piece basis, and it’s home-based. You see, I am now a textbook abstractor, and it is my job to summarize college-level textbooks of subjects I do not even have the slightest idea about for Php 30 per summary, which means I need to do at least twenty summaries five days a week to match my previous basic salary. As if making five a day isn’t bad enough.
I don’t know why, but the home-based gig isn’t really working out for me. Sure, it’s totally cost-efficient because I don’t have to spend on food (because I live with my folks, shame) and transportation, but the home lacks that slave-driving motivating workplace environment and is instead replaced by a plethora of distractions. Aside from that, I have zero social life save cosplay/otaku friends, college friends, and church friends, and the home becomes a stressful place instead of a relaxing one. Then again, maybe it’s not the setup, but the work itself. I mean, summarizing textbooks I hardly understand for chump change – that’s not what I want to do.
However, what is perhaps the worst part of it all is that apparently, writing about something I don’t like is very mentally exhausting, so much so that I find myself no longer able to write for my own personal satisfaction, thus the lack of updates here in my blog. In my previous work, I had more than enough free time and energy to write. Heck, I even wrote during work. But now, once I’m done abstracting, I can barely muster a single paragraph. Well, I could just write in this blog first, but it’s so time-consuming that I wouldn’t have enough for work.
Damn, maybe I should consider doing what Lester Burnham of American Beauty did.
In the movie, Lester Burnham (played by Kevin Spacey) is exasperated from his life as a middle-aged office worker. Because of a series of events that begun with him getting infatuated with his daughter’s friend Angela, he resigned from his post, worked out, and applied for a job at his local fastfood chain. When interviewed by the HR, he said that he wanted a position with the least responsibility, so he became a drive-thru service crew. Thus…
He was more than satisfied with it because he got to do the things he want, such as work out, listen to 70’s-80’s rock, smoke weed, drive around town, and hit on his daughter’s hot blonde bel0w-legal best friend (as if I wasn’t hitting on a seventeen-year old as of late, but that’s another story). Damn, I want his life. If you have watched the movie, you might be one of those who’d say that he wasn’t in the right mind. If you’re one of those people, I’d have to disagree with you. After all, isn’t that what life is about – having fun and doing what you want? Of course, career growth is important, but simply just doing whatever you please is a rocking way of life too, as long as you don’t live off other people’s money to do so and neglect important responsibilities.
Much as I need and want the green stuff and get to keep my time for myself, I cannot just stay stuck forever in a low-risk low-reward zero-career growth dead-end job and shouldn’t be looking for another one again EVER. However, I do miss staying for eight hours in the office, spending two out of that eight hours for actual work, and then doing whatever crap me and my friends can get away with for the remaining six. Unfortunately, that lifestyle won’t pay the damn bills ten years from now. Besides, that’s not what I really want to do for the rest of my life, because what I really want is to do is to write articles and books and get paid for doing so. It’s a long and winding road that probably doesn’t lead to wealth, but that is what my soul desires, and so I will walk down that road no matter how hard and tiresome it may get.
Ugh, why can’t people have growth in a career they want, get paid well for it, AND do whatever they crap they choose in their free time? Guess I’ll have to choose between the three, and I pick…isn’t there a high-paying and career-progressive job that involves doing something that I love, doesn’t have too many responsibilities, and too consuming of time and energy?
Adult life sure is getting harder, and I ain’t even getting started yet. Well, whatever, the important thing is that I’m back…
P.S.: Guess I’ll keep my damn job for a few more weeks until I get accepted in graduate school…
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Returned
I’m coming home, I’m coming home, tell the world I’m coming home. Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday. I know my kingdom awaits, and they’ve forgiven my mistakes. I’m coming home, I’m coming home, tell the world I’m coming…
-Skylar Grey, Coming Home
Final Fantasy – the quintessential role-playing game of my youth. Many days of my sixth grader life and college life, I rushed home so that I can be a hero again. Exploring beautiful places, fighting enemies of different shapes and sizes, as well as meeting colorful characters – adventures of a lifetime, only found in those archaic PlayStation 1 and 2 discs as well as emulator files. I was Zidane, pretending to kidnap the princess when he in fact has saved her from a life of misery and thrusting her into a brave new world full of adventure. I was Cloud, buster sword-wielding badass hero trying to save the planet from an evil super-corporation and and an equally evil super-soldier. I was Squall, a fresh graduate from a military academy who’s suddenly going against the most powerful sorceress in the land. I was Tidus, ace blitzball player sent to the future to protect Yuna; a beautiful summoner tasked to slay an ancient evil. I did try to play Final Fantasy XII, but it wasn’t my cup of tea since it was too “politically charged”, too bad because it was set in Ivalice. And speaking of Ivalice, I’ve been there twice to run two different guilds filled with people of different races (bangaa, moogle, viera, and nu mou), conquer lands, fight other guilds, and do requested quests.
Sadly, as much as I wanted to be updated with the franchise and play as Lightning, I couldn’t afford a PS3, not to mention the fact that I’d rather spend my dough on my rig and play DoTA 2 and some MMOs. They too were adventures of a lifetime – Ragnarok Online private servers, Rakion, Dragon Nest (two years baby), and Path of Exile. But then I realized that I wanted a bigger MMO experience – a wild wide world, five races to choose from, a versatile open-gender class system, and a cool and innovative battle system. In my quest to find one, I stumbled upon an old beautiful flame reignited as an MMO: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
While it’s not exactly Square Enix’s first venture into MMO territory, as I’m sure you’ve heard about Final Fantasy XI for the PS2/XBox 360, they are indeed quite new to the ball game, as compared to Blizzard and NCSoft. And then there’s Final Fantasy XIV (which I wil refer to as 1.0), a clunky and non-intuitive mess of a game that received so many negative reviews, thus prompting Square Enix to majorly overhaul and relaunch it as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Because I had doubts with the 1.0 version, I was pretty skeptical with A Realm Reborn as well. However, upon looking for reviews about the game, which were mostly positive, I finally decided to get myself a copy, in high hopes that this would finally be the long-awaited adventure of my lifetime. But there was one problem – from where? DataBlitz doesn’t sell the PC version according to their website(but upon checking the closest branch, they do, but I already bought a copy when I checked). Downloading from the official site would require me a credit card, and Father doesn’t want to lend his because he’s afraid that the card’s data might get stolen, not to mention the fact that the game is 20GB, which definitely would take forever. It seems like all hope is lost for me to return to Final Fantasy, right? NO. A true adventurer, when he or she cannot find his or her way, makes one. And in my case, there was one – sulit.com.ph.
Sulit.com.ph – the Philippines’ hit-or-miss online black market. If you’re looking for something, you’ll find it here, but don’t expect that it’s always going to be a good deal. Therefore, in navigating such a site full of shady postings, one must be very discerning on what is legit and what is a scam, for even the most seemingly honest merchant could turn out to be a con artist. And if you’re looking for a considerably pricey item, be doubly wary. And I very much was as I looked at the different ads. Some were selling CD keys for the game WITHOUT THE INSTALLER ITSELF FOR Php1450. Credible, isn’t it? And that was pretty much what most ads consisted of. I almost gave up on it, but then I stumbled upon an ad selling a hard copy of the PC version for Php800. Maybe I was just paranoid, maybe I have already lost all faith in humanity, especially in the honesty of my own countrymen, as it sounded too good to be true. Still, I knew deep in my heart that I had to try and risk the chances of it being conned, as it was the least shady deal, not to mention the cheapest. The things I do for the love of the game…
November 28, 2013. Around 6PM in Forever 21 at SM Makati. That was when and where the deal went down. He gave me the CD, still wrapped in plastic, proof that it is still indeed new, and I gave him the money. We shook hands, a sign of an honest deal. A sign of a hero passing on his adventure of a lifetime to another, as he was going to have an adventure of his own and find his fortune in the sands of Saudi Arabia. “I won’t let you down, fellow hero. I will carry thy will. Go find your fortune, and I will find mine.” I blessed him in my head for being such an honest man in a den of swindlers. After our deal, I headed off to work. However, while I was physically there, my mind, heart, soul, and spirit was already far away in Eorzea (the name of the world in Final Fantasy XIV), as I was already browsing info about the gameplay mechanics as well as the class and race system. Yes, I was that excited about it. Yes, I was that crazy-prepared. Well, anyone who’s looking forward to something for eons would be. Little did I know that I had to wait another eon…
As I made my way out of the company premises and had my bag inspected by the security personnel, he felt a flat rectangular surface. My CD. He questioned me what it is, I explained to him that it’s a CD. Without warning, he took it, so I snatched it from him. I knew I should’ve bolted past the exit doors once I got a hold on it, but I was gripped by fear and confusion, so I was able to do anything. I just stood there like a tree, so he grabbed it from me again and then told me that it’s against company policy to bring one within the premises. According to their ridiculous policy, I have committed an offense, so he not only took my work-related details, he also took the item in question to the Human Resources Department. Because of a ridiculous rule that I did not even know, my portal to Eorzea, to an adventure of a lifetime, was snatched away.
THAT CANNOT BE! IT IS MINE! I CANNOT LET THEM HAVE IT! Thus, even though I was half-asleep and already limit-breaking, I begged the HR personnel to return the CD to me. Return my portal to Eorzea. To an adventure of a lifetime. To home. I even told them that I would be more than willing to accept any judgement they would pass on me as long as I could bring the CD home. But my pleas fell to deaf ears, as they told me that they need the CD as evidence. EVIDENCE FOR WHAT? A “crime” that I unknowingly committed? Did I do any damages by just bringing the CD inside? Did I neglect my job when I brought it in? Heck, I can’t even install it in their crappy units that don’t have a DVD-rom as well as a video card. Still, they are the evil “bosses” who think they own us, make us work for wages way below what the clients consider as minimum wage, and give us zero career advancement, yet never hear us out. They would never hear out my valid reasons because they don’t care. They don’t care that I just wanted to play the game at home after a long day at work with the money that DID NOT COME FROM THEM. They don’t care because they only care about the client’s money. They don’t care because they have power over us. They have power over us because they give us a boring dead-end job that has pathetic excuse for a salary. They have the power, and I do not because I was in the real world and not Eorzea, so I had no choice but to just let it go. I let it go no matter how much I have waited and paid for it, for I was powerless against them ass-kissing bastards, that templar asshole security guard and that faggot HR personnel. My joy in what could have been changed form into sadness and rage over what had transpired. Sadness over the fact that I went home empty-handed and had to wait another day to get the CD. Rage over them championing an idiotic reasoning and cause. Rage over their drunkenness on power and my lack of it. But I calmed myself down and believed that I would get it the next day. However, among the many things I believed in, it was one of the wrong ones…
I could no longer afford to wait, so I went straight to the HR department right after I got to work the following day, only to hear disenchanting news. Apparently, them lazy asses would take them AT LEAST TWO WEEKS before the entire due process, as there will be an investigation and a hearing. After that, only then will the CD be released. TWO MORE WEEKS JUST TO GET WHAT IT RIGHTFULLY MINE!? It’s like waiting for a postponed date with a chinita goddess.“Just a little bit more. Wait for me, okay? ;)” said Eorzea. For my beautiful maiden, I waited. Even if it would take me forever, I would, for her beauty is a rare and delicate one. And thankfully, I only had to wait two weeks for it. To pass what seem would like another eon, I did what I usually do – go to work, read manga, watch anime, play DoTA 2 and Dragon Nest, eat, drink, pray, go to church, hang out with friends…a life. A life before going to Eorzea. A life that took my mind off it most of the time. However, when it didn’t, I felt pangs of rage and longing; rage over those who took away my beautiful maiden, and longing to finally see, feel, hear, and experience her beauty. Thus, I read more about Eorzea, its classes and races, its lively cities and perilous zones, and the quests it offered its heroes and heroines. However, the more I read, the more I longed. But like a true adventurer, I patiently waited and endured the longing as I looked forward to getting back my CD – my portal to Eorzea, my childhood, my adventure of a lifetime, my beautiful maiden. Next thing I know, one of the longest two weeks of my life had finally ended. Seeking knowledge about Eorzea was over, for the was time to experience it firsthand.
December 13, 2013. Friday. Judgement day. Me, my boss, her two bosses, and an HR personnel who we’ll codename “Alexander”, gathered together in a room to discuss what is to them a trivial matter and to me a highly vital one. Like a real court, I was asked to give my side of the story. The truth. All but the truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God. And help me He did, for my one and only question to the judge was answered – when will I get back my CD? I didn’t care about the possible sanction; all I wanted was to get back my CD – my portal to Eorzea, my childhood, my adventure of a lifetime, my beautiful maiden. And so I did that same afternoon.
FINALLY! <♪♫Final Fantasy victory fanfare plays in the background♫♪> While they could’ve saved themselves the trouble of having a farce of a hearing and me the agony of waiting an eternity TWICE, I was very much grateful from the very bottom of my heart that I could finally play a Final Fantasy game once again. Not just another Final Fantasy game, but an online Final Fantasy game.
And at long last, on a blessed Sunday morning, I installed the game and patched the launcher. After two eons…
I was finally home. (to be continued)
You’ll meet her soon enough…
P.S.: Like I said, I didn’t care if what sanction they were going to give me, but thank God that all I got was a written warning instead of a supposed suspension. Although a suspension would be very much welcome because that would be five days’ worth of vacation in Eorzea.
Leave Me Be
If we need time away from the things and people we love, then how much more from the things we don’t? I hate work, and as much as I want to be away from it, I can’t because I need the damn pay. And as much as the company wants to keep me reporting to work everyday even though I don’t want to, it can’t, because I got my leave credits, which happen to be included in my rights as an employee. Bitches. But apparently, it can override that so-called “right”. And since it can, it will. In fact,it already has.
All I wanted was a day off today since it’s my sister’s birthday and I wanted to prepare for the upcoming cosplay convention this weekend, so yesterday I asked my boss for one, since I’m pretty much entitled to it. However, my boss suggested that I should adjust my work schedule and take half the day off instead so that I can still go to work. Really? I have zero backlogs, I have very light workload, and I have three leave credits – SO WHY IN TARNATION CAN I NOT TAKE A SINGLE DAY OFF?!
Pissed about my request going south, I asked my coworkers if my leave credits can be converted to cash at the end of the year. After all, if I can’t use it for what it’s truly intended for, I might as well get compensated instead. But apparently, the rule for leaves being converted to cash isn’t exactly straightforward. Here’s how it works – if you have five leave credits or less, they get carried over for next year. If you have six or more, then five of those leave credits get carried over for next year, and the rest get multiplied with your daily rate. And since regular employees only get a measly ONE LEAVE CREDIT every month, which could either serve as vacation or sick leave, it’s basically impossible to have them converted to cash since it’s highly improbable that you’ll never be absent for less than seven times in a year, which has 260 working days give or take. There’s no point in stacking them and converting them to cash because it’s nearly impossible to do, so it’s much better to use them all before the year ends. IF THE COMPANY WOULD LET YOU. And if the company wouldn’t let you have just one day off easily, it totally won’t allow you to stack your leave credits so that you can go on a grand vacation. Perhaps the only way to be able to use them all is feign an illness and file them as sick leaves. But then I’d have to secure a medical certificate. Ugh.
Seriously, there’s just no getting around these ridiculous rules regarding leaves. And then the company is trying to make us feel as if we’re uber-privileged to have these “reward points”. AS IF. Other companies give a lot more credits, while we get only a handful, and its use is totally subject to how they see it fit. We do our low-paying zero-growth jobs like sheeple, and then they get to refuse our properly processed request for a hard-earned vacation just because they want us to keep working for another day, even just for a few hours, just to keep production moving and the client satisfied. Then again, so what if the employees are denied of their rights to have rest days aside from weekends, right? I mean, employees just do the work the clients asks the company to do, which is the very reason why the company is alive, they’re not important, so let’s give them a few days’ worth of leave that have high chances of being rejected anyway.
Well, why don’t you just not give us leaves so that we can go AWOL whenever we please? That’d be fun.
Floody Heck
Back when I was in college, I loved it when classes were suspended due to inclement weather. Of course, I felt bad for people who were affected by the flood every time there’s a storm or very heavy rainfall, but my concern for them does not have the power to change the weather, so I took what I was given – a day or two’s worth of vacation; three, four, or even an entire week if it’s a total calamity. Although sometimes I did wish for an extension and didn’t care about how awfully affected others were by the weather (except when it’s more than two days because I’d suddenly miss my classmates, my crush, and my allowance), but I was just a kid back then (not that I no longer am, it’s just that I’m a little bit more mature now) so give me a break. Besides, I thought that I won’t be able to get as much of it once I graduate. But apparently, I got one yesterday and might even get another one today, and it’s all because the usual route to work got deluged, making it impassable. Pics or didn’t happen.
That is not the set of Waterworld nor of The Day After Tomorrow. That is SM City Sucat, a nearby local shopping mall. I pass by it everyday when I go to work and home from it. No, I am not going to take another route where public vehicles pass because there is none. I could’ve taken a cab, but good luck to me finding one in the middle of a storm. Aside from that, my daily wage is Php550, while a one-way cab fare to work would cost around Php130-180, while food and beverage would cost me around Php100-150 (yes, I’m a wasteful spender), making my total earnings for that day very negligible and would never compensate the hassle of traveling during bad weather and the chances of being stranded – chances I’m not willing to take. Yeah, I’m obliged to to do my job since I signed a contract and I’m paid to do so, but I would never put sworn duty first before self, especially when my route to work was deluged. And sure, I could do my job at home, but why do it for free if you can do it tomorrow with overtime? Thus, I stayed at home and did nothing related to work. Except peek at the inbox and delete the spam.
All I did yesterday was watch The Three Stooges on Star Movies over lunch with the entire family since my siblings’ classes have been suspended, play League of Legends with friends, and read To-Love-Ru. Very productive. Maybe I should’ve done my job instead? Well, it was probably the right thing to do, but it’d be a total waste of a perfectly chill one-day vacation. And since I’m not getting paid, I’m not going to work.
Honestly, I still don’t feel like going to work tomorrow. And while I’d love to get another day off, I wouldn’t want the rains to keep going on since a lot of my countrymen are already having a hard time thanks to the flood. I’d rather go back to work despite it being a never-ending struggle against sloth than another day of seeing people sick and trapped because of the disease-ridden flood that could reach up to six feet depending on the area. Besides, I already have five absences for this month, which is pretty bad for my record paycheck, not to mention the fact that my absences could be used against me if I ask for a holiday off this Wednesday despite the fact that I’m entitled to it because the law says so. Oh outsourcing, how I despise your ways.
Oh well, whatever, I just hope and pray that the rains would stop so we can all get back to our lives, especially those who were affected by the flood…
Still Not An Otaku Blog
It’s safe to say that most of the things I have posted on this blog have something to do with otaku culture, mostly anime, manga, gaming, or cosplay. However, despite that fact, this blog is still not an otaku blog dedicated solely to otaku culture, Japanese culture, or anything and everything related to Japan for that matter.
Though I spend most of my time watching anime, reading manga, and playing games, I also am fond of non-otaku related stuff such as novels, western comics (though rarely), movies, drinking, hanging out with friends, travel, beaches, girls, and that one true love.
Aside from being an otaku or being a geek in general, I am also a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Santo Tomas, a Registered Nurse ever since 2011, a former Customer Service Representative for AT&T under Teleperformance, and a Christian (although not a very active and religious one).
There’s more to me than just being an otaku. But honestly, if I wasn’t an otaku, there would be a whole lot less going for me. If I wasn’t an otaku, I never would’ve been a cosplayer. If I never became a cosplayer, I never would’ve been a writer for Otaku Asia – I never would’ve gotten nowhere closer to my dream.
Aside from being propelled career-wise by otaku culture, it has also inspired the way I see my life.
Surely, otaku culture has become and always will be an integral part of my life, but it’s not everything.
Dream Come True
I remember when my parents told me that nothing good would come out of watching anime. I grew up and they recognized that it’s actually an internationally recognized form of media and art, so now there’s pretty much no issue about me watching anime or reading manga anymore. Then I got into cosplaying. At first they were opposed to it, but since I’m actually happy with what I do, not to mention that I use none of their money for it since I have a day (or should I say night) job, they don’t have much of a say against it anymore. And now that I earn a part of my bread and butter because of otaku culture, they’re actually pretty happy about it now.
Earning money by watching anime, reading manga, and going to conventions is definitely a dream come true for me. But of course, I don’t just sit in front of the PC and immerse myself to anime and manga or hang out in a convention and them somebody mails me dough – it doesn’t work that way. In fact, it involves another dream of mine coming true – writing. Yes, I am a writer for an otaku magazine as a sideline.
Does it feel like rainbows and butterflies? Well, it’s a yes and a no. It’s a no because I am now running two jobs, which is good if you like money as well as having a sense of fulfillment, but sometimes it gets tiresome too, as my main job sometimes demands me to go overtime, leaving me less time to write. However, it’s a yes because I get to do what I want for something that I want, all while gaining extra money as well as experience and skill worthy to be put on my resume. And lastly, it’s also a yes because people other than my friends or followers read my works. They get to know that somewhere out there is a young adult who is immersed into otaku culture. They get to know that they are definitely not alone in their passions. They get to know the latest releases and events, other good anime and manga, and other stuff related to Japanese popular culture. By the way, have I mentioned that I also get extra money?
Then again, even if my sideline didn’t have pay, I still wouldn’t hesitate in taking it up. After all, it was never about the money – it’s just an added bonus to the main reward, which is being able to share my thoughts about Japanese pop culture, mostly anime, manga, and cosplay to others through my writing. Then I’d probably be using that money to buy more otaku stuff. How fitting.
When a dream comes true, you don’t go back to sleep. You take a good hold of it and never let it get out of your grasp, lest it becomes just another dream again. Sure, this may not be my ultimate dream, because mine is actually to write a novel which will have a movie, manga, and anime adaptation – but it is nonetheless a dream. And so I’ll use this dream come true to do what I enjoy even more, improve my craft, and hopefully move on to a bigger and bigger stage until I reach my ultimate dream. After all, it doesn’t cost a cent to dream anyway. Besides, big dreams that seem impossible gets people farther than small dreams that can be easily attained.
Today, Psicom. Tomorrow, Shueisha. Damn, every step of the way feels like Bakuman. Now the only thing missing is a girl like Azuki Miho.
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I put the I in the UNIVERSE. I hope I can put U too. 