work
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. 🙂
My Eternal Summer: Summer-Dreaming/The Past Tense of Break is Broke
One of my favorite seasons, the time of the year for heat, flings, girls, ice cream, cold drinks, vacation, pools, and beaches has finally come – my lady Summer. Upon her return, she has once again cast her magic spell that affects everyone, even those who are too old for vacations, for she’s got a different appeal for those who work (except teachers). Sure, you still gotta do your job even though its scorching out, but at least you got money to do whatever and go wherever, unlike those poor broke teenage kids who have no choice but to be content with secretly having sex in their houses after being punch-drunk with cheap-ass alcohol. Unfortunately, this summer, I am as broke as those teenagers, and I don’t have anyone to sneak into the house to get punch-drunk and have sex with…even though I got two damn jobs.
You see, my pay for the magazine is two months overdue, while my pay for abstracting, which I know will be meager because I haven’t done a lot yet, won’t come until the seventh because they haven’t sent my work to the client. Well, there’s my long-awaited final pay from my previous job, but knowing them, I doubt I’d get it anytime this April; the earliest time I’d probably get it would be the last week of May. In short, I got no summer break, and I’m broke.
That’s okay James. At least you still have two jobs that you can post in your resume, right? LOL. Sure, I don’t need money for board, lodging, and utilities, but I need it for other important things. No money, no Final Fantasy XIV subscription fee. No money, no DoTA with friends at Pacific. No money, no movies with friends. No money, no cosplay with friends. No cosplay, no women, including Nicolette. No money, no alcohol. No alcohol, no women. No money, no weed. No money, no travel. No travel, no sights to see, including women. No money, no beaches. No beaches, no women. In short, no money, no women. And it’s summer – I can’t have no women. Okay, maybe I don’t have to have women, not because I became either gay or asexual (defensive much?), but there’s more to summer than just chasing skirts, for summer is about having fun and going places, especially the beach.
Yeah, here I go again – the beach. Pristine white sands, cerulean crystal waters, cyan skies, towering palms, warm sunshine and bonfire, cool breeze and drinks, friends just having fun, and a chance of romance with the girl you like – paradise on Earth. Unfortunately, it comes with a price – money. We live in the real world, duh. Well, you can always summer-dream about it, but it’s still gonna pale in comparison to something you can see and hear in front of you, touch with your own hands, and feel with your own skin and heart. Unless it’s…
Yeah, here I go again. Well, then again, maybe it’s Mizuki Kawashita’s way of telling the readers to go to the beach because Aya is there.
And maybe Yuna is there too! DAMN! I CAN’T CHOOSE!
Respective links:
http://s482.photobucket.com/user/Rikku-no-Cosplay/media/Cosplay/FFXPaysage12.jpg.html
http://s482.photobucket.com/user/Rikku-no-Cosplay/media/Cosplay/FFXPaysage9.jpg.html.
http://www.facebook.com/Endiru
http://deugenio.deviantart.com/art/Yuna-Sending-173025787
http://www.nerdist.com/tag/cosplay-friday/page/2/?full
Unable to find credit link for last photo.
This one’s a good Yuna too. Oh, Yoona…close enough.
Okay, this is turning to be just like my first post for summer last year. But who cares? This is kind of my signature topic this time of the year.
Or maybe Hyuna.
I know I’m already digressing, but maybe Sistar is there too!
And Girls’ Generation!
Well, I don’t mind if the K-Pop girls I mentioned don’t show up, as long as…
IU! I am so in love with U. I and U, together, on the beach! She didn’t even have to rock a swimsuit.
LOL James, look at you daydream about fictional and celebrity girls you can never reach. Besides, even with the inclusion of Aya and Yuna if they really do exist, it’s not as if they will all be in just one beach at the same time. And I thought you said that there’s more to summer than chasing skirts? Well, yeah, because it’s about chasing skirts on the beach with your friends. Still, it’s nice to dream, and there’s nothing wrong with it, right? I mean, imagining a beach full of pretty East Asian girls is definitely a good sign of a healthy brain. Yes, it’s also a sign that I’m broke. But I believe I won’t remain dirt-poor this summer and be content with just summer-dreaming, for I know something really good is gonna happen. This dry spell is going to end, and I’m going to have a wet, wild, and wonderful one; I kid you not. And if you’re reading this and are currently broke this summer just like me, just have faith. Who knows? 😉
Oh Summer, wait for me to have some gold in my pocket, then I will caress your golden hair and kiss your smoldering lips.
P.S. Try listening to Aerosmith’s Girls of Summer and Sistar’s Loving You while reading this.
P.P.S. Here’s my Final Fantasy XIV character wishing everyone a happy summer! 😀
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.
Getting Up After Being Down With The Sickness
If you’d actually notice, the last post in my blog was September 6, and it’s already September 22. Sixteen days, and no updates whatsoever, although I do have tons of backlog, to be fair. Well, I honestly meant to update this blog, it’s just that aside from my eight hour job and my job at the magazine, something came up. And when it did, I got down…with the sickness, and I couldn’t get up. Well, that’s what happens when you go to work at 2PM, leave at 10PM, stay up til 4PM, and then wake up at 10.
It all began last Monday during work. Out of the blue, I started feeling hot, which was strange since I was feeling fine and dandy in the morning. I thought it was just because the air conditioner was at full blast and I refused to wear my jacket. I put it on, but it didn’t help me in any way whatsoever, so I knew that I was going to go down with a fever. In vain attempts to prevent my inevitable demise caused by my own devices, I drank pineapple juice, orange juice, two 500mg tablets of vitamin C, and a tablet of paracetamol. Later that night, my sleep was shallow to nonexistent, as I was burning up and gasping for air. Next thing I knew, it was morning, and it was official – I was down with the flu and overdosing myself with vitamin C didn’t help.
The next day I was so weak I could barely eat, much so that it felt as if eating one slice of bread took all my strength. Heck, I even had to dip it in coffee so that I wouldn’t have to chew it much, although I had rice later on that same day. And aside from nutrition, entertainment is also one of the many things needed by a person who’s assuming the sick role, so I asked father to put a small TV set on my bed, and I also borrowed my sister’s laptop since I needed to know what’s going to happen next on Air Gear. And damn, when you’re sick, it takes double effort to take in the drawing and scene in, read the dialogue, and turn the page, even if it’s just a manga site. And since reading manga was too hard for me, I just watched anime. I was supposed to watch Danganronpa, but then I realized that I still have unfinished business. I guess this is how adults are when they’re sick – instead of just resting so that they can get well soon, they still need to do their work. Reminds me of a Bakuman chapter when manga artist Mashiro got hospitalized and was still drawing manga with the help of his girlfriend Azuki. Except that I wasn’t a manga artist and I didn’t have a girlfriend.
I was far from done with my assigned articles for the October issue of the magazine, and I was actually overdue with one of them, so instead of watching the anime I wanted to watch, I watched what my editor asked me to – Diabolik Lovers and Yamishibai. After I’m done with them both, I worked on the articles on my desktop since my sister took her laptop back and didn’t lend it to me again ‘cuz she thought she might get what I had. I worked on it while I’m still feverish, weak, and nauseous whenever I sit up. If reading manga while sick takes twice the effort, writing takes four times since it’s an activity that produces something instead of taking something in. Still, I feared my editor’s wrath much more than my condition getting worse, so I worked on it anyway.
If there’s something good about being sick, it’s watching movies all day. In the span of my sickness, I got to watch Chronicle, Priest, We Are The Night, Kung Fu Hustle, and one my newest favorite movies – Moonrise Kingdom, don’t ask why. But of course, the internet is my maintenance drug, so I went online anyway even though it makes me dizzy. Well, through constant exposure, I got re-used to it, as well as with eating rice. Come Thursday, my fever was gone and I no longer get nauseous whenever I sit, stand, or walk, although I was still feeling weak, so I didn’t go back to work just yet. Yeah, I wasn’t strong enough to work, but I was strong enough to slay the Sea Dragon with an 8-man team on Dragon Nest. Sure, my day job is actually easier than playing Dragon Nest, but it isn’t half as fun, and hard fun things takes less effort to do than easy no-fun ones.
And on Friday, I was finally freed from my sickness as well as my obligations with the magazine, as I have submitted my last article which for the October issue which is my coverage of Best of Anime. I also returned to work, where I was warmly welcomed back by my coworkers that I dearly missed. Although I still wasn’t as strong as I used to be and I still have cough, colds, and shortness of breath until now, I still got the job done, but I had to go overtime until 12AM (end of shift is 10PM) because of three days’ worth of backlog.
Well, anyway, all’s well that ends well, especially me. However, this isn’t the end, but a kickstart back up. So ladies and gentlemen, I am back and feeling much better than last Monday. I’m still not feeling as good as before, but we’ll get there. As for my writing, I wouldn’t say it’s better than before, but just like my condition, we’ll get there. 🙂
Floody Heck Day 3: Seeing The Rainbow On A Holiday
“Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors…
-Boys Like Girls, Thunder
Honestly, I never thought that my musings about how Maring and the monsoon rains affected me would become a three-part miniseries. And since the flood on the way to work has finally subsided and the showers have devolved to drizzles, I give you the colorful finale. Enjoy. 🙂
Yesterday, August 21, was a holiday, Ninoy Aquino Day, meant to commemorate the assassination of Senator Benigno Aquino Sr., the man who fearlessly opposed dictator President Ferdinand V. Marcos. His death was the spark that ignited the EDSA Revolution, a peaceful protest that ousted Marcos and restored Philippine Democracy – that is why it’s so important for every Filipino, patriotic or otherwise. to celebrate it. But of course, as much as I am grateful about what Ninoy did for the country, I only care about the holiday for one reason and one reason alone – no work. However, in my case, since I work for an outsourcing company, getting a holiday is pretty much a 50-50 deal – it’s up to me and my employer whether I get to have a day of slacking or another day at the abattoir office with double pay. And since it’s not entirely up to me, aside from the fact that the way to work passable again, I did, despite it being against my will. Either I didn’t have enough vacation yet (which obviously wasn’t the case), was still feeling under the weather, or had extended vacation syndrome. Damn, looks like I ate what I said about choosing boring work over another boring day of vacation in my previous post.
I left home a few minutes past two-thirty, right after I ate brunch. I left home and another day of slacking around with its comforts and amenities for work, not because of the seemingly handsome reward that is the double pay, but because my beautiful boss was looking for me, since my coworker Marveen, who takes the same route to work as I do, was able to get there. I had no excuse, since the road to work was no longer flooded and our place never got flooded in the first place, so I heeded her call. With a leather jacket on my back, high-cut leather shoes on my feet, and an umbrella over my head, I went out for the first time in two days, hoping for gray skies at best (I’m realistic) and prepared for heavy showers that can cause flashfloods once again and getting stranded at work for the worst. Thankfully, what I got was something of an in-between.
Since I had a little bit of time to spare, I stopped by SM Sucat before I went to work, which was flooded a day ago, to check the books on Book Sale. The janitors were still putting up with the insurmountable task of drying up whatever’s left of the floodwater on the mall’s ground floor, and the ATMs outside were damaged beyond repair after being soaked for almost an entire day (oh God the money inside them), so I had to wait in line for the ATM inside the mall’s premises. For the first time since payday (which was last Monday), I open my ATM – Php5,500+/-. Ugh, I can’t believe I’m being paid that low for putting up with their crap. Then again, all I do at work is finish whatever needs to be done at the shortest time and fastest way possible, talk to my friends, eat, read manga, open my Facebook, browse other sites, and hope to bump to Karmela. Anyway, money is money, and I wanted some books, so I used my not-so-hard-earned pay for Heat Guy J (a crappy manga, but nonetheless a manga so it’s a plus for my collection), The Devil and Miss Pryn by Paulo Coelho, and For One More Day by Mitch Albom – all for about Php410. Not bad, considering a new copy of a bestselling novel nowadays usually costs around Php315-Php700+/-.
During holidays, you can go to work anytime between 1PM to 5PM and leave anytime as long as you’re done with your job. In my case, I got there nine minutes before 4PM, so thought I’d be going home at 12AM at worst since there’s no overtime during holidays because holiday is already considered as overtime. And you can’t do double overtime, except certain cases, especially when you have a truckload of backlogs, but I abide in the “you can’t do double overtime” rule, aside from the fact that I pretty much don’t care. I went to my workstation and found my coworkers – Marveen, Connie, Ate Joyce, and Ate Lynn. Four out of fourteen…not bad, considering it was a holiday and many areas were still flooded. I sat beside Connie, who told me of her misadventures the day before. A few minutes later, Albert arrived and told his own wild experience with Maring. With all they told me, I didn’t know whether I should laugh or feel sorry for them, so I chose both, with the former being more evident. I guess I did the right thing, as they were laughing with me. And maybe that’s just how it is in life – storms, be it in a literal or a more deeper existential sense, will always come to rain on you, blow you away, and flood your path. It’s not a question if, but a question of when, how strong, how often, and how many at a given time. They’re definitely not positive experiences, but when they’ve passed and you look back at everything that’s happened, you’ll be looking for a soul to tell all about it and have a good laugh with them because you survived them, learned a thing or two from them, and found the silver lining from their dark clouds.
Given the weather condition and the fact that the flood just subsided very recently, the food in the cafeteria was crap, so we opted to eat at the nearby KFC. But since it was raining, we decided to have it delivered instead. And for some reasons unexplainable to man, KFC told us the delivery would take an hour to get there, even though their nearest branch is only a few minutes away ON FOOT. Still, since we love their chicken, their thighs, and their breasts, we concurred. After almost an hour and finally admitting that I was already hungry, we received a call from security saying that KFC has arrived, so I tagged along with Connie to pick the food up. There it was…the food. But apparently, it wasn’t ours, it’s Andrea’s. “Andrea?” asked the KFC delivery guy. Andrea, who said hi to me, looked at me with iridescent eyes, and smiled warmly into a bow with her pursed lips. Have I mentioned that Karmela’s other name is Andrea? Although I’m not sure if it’s her actual first name or her second name, but I know Andrea is one of her names because that’s how my friend Rob addresses her. Nonetheless, Andrea sounds just as sweet as Karmela. Well, whatever her name may be, she is the rainbow personified – for her eyes are its colors and her smile is its arc. She was what made going to work yesterday, despite it being a holiday more than worth it, not the double pay. Too bad though that a smile is all I got, because I was kind of wishing something along the lines of this…
If I chose to stay at home and be lazy once again, I never would’ve seen my muse, my inspiration. If I chose to extend my hikkikomori throwback days, this post would not even be half as lively and interesting, not to mention long. If I chose to pretend that the storm is still raging and the roads are still flooded, nothing would’ve happened. But I didn’t, so I saw my meager not-so-hard-earned pay and bought new books from it, had actual contact with people who are not my family after two long days, had a blast with my friends, and saw Karmela…I mean Andrea. Whatever. What’s important is that I got back to my life now that the storm and the floods have ended and saw the rainbow once again.
And damn it, it’s raining again, and it’s quite hard and intermittent. Seriously, Maring, when are you going to leave for good? Seems like it’s going to be a four-part miniseries. Oh well…
P.S.: KFC = Karmela’s Freakin’ Cute.
Floody Heck: Day 2
The rain poured so hard last night it sounded like crashing rocks being unloaded from a truck. When I heard it, I guessed that I won’t be able to go to work again yesterday. And my guess was spot-on – all routes to work were once again impassable. So just like the day before, I stayed at home. I would’ve went out if I had the chance, but I think doing so in the middle of a storm coupled with heavy monsoon rains just to have fun is definitely out of the question. It’s not because it’s dangerous, but because nobody in the right mind would come with me.
I pretty much did the same things I did yesterday, except this time I didn’t watch any movie. Yep, just good ol’ League of Legends and To-Love-Ru. It’s hikkikomori days all over again.
And while others are running low on stocks at home, we had a feast, as mother prepared fried chicken and mojos for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. They were all so good that it shamed any fastfood restaurant, and I’m not saying that just because she’s my mother. In fact, it’s so good that it made me screw my diet just so that I can have more servings. Sure, it’s just my mother’s same old cooking, but when it’s cold outside because the rain won’t stop falling and the winds won’t stop blowing, it tastes like the best cooking there is. Heck, mother’s cooking would still be the best even if the sun was shining bright, it’s just that it tastes better because the weather’s awful. Ah, the warm and tender meat, the crunchy skin, the oiliness of the fried rice, the hot potato dipped in batter turning to delectable paste upon mastication, the sweet-and-sour Spaghetti sauce coating the firm pasta – that is how home is supposed to taste like on a freezing stormy day. While others had nowhere to go and nothing to eat, I was safe and comfortable at home doing completely useless things and having sumptuous meals. My lifestyle, despite harsh conditions, remained totally unchanged, and I couldn’t help but be thankful for it.
Finally, the rains came to a complete stop and the winds hushed. With the weather finally calming down, the flooded areas will be back to normal in a matter of hours (days or even weeks in really awful places thanks to very poor urban planning), making the route to work passable again. And for me, that means returning to my boring old usual life again. But hey, I’d rather have that kind of boring than the one I’m having right now because it gives me money and something that resembles a life. After all, once I’m done with the real work, which only takes 3-4 hours, I just read manga and visit Facebook anyway. No different than what I’ve been doing these past two days.
P.S.: I haven’t taken a bath in two days. I didn’t have to leave the house, it’s cold, I don’t stink yet, and I still don’t feel sticky or itchy, so why would I?
P.P.S.: Damn, I really need to go back to work or else I’d revert to being a fat hikkikomori who doesn’t bathe…
I put the I in the UNIVERSE. I hope I can put U too. 
