happy december!

It’s this time of the year again! My second favorite time of the year(next to summer) is Christmas.

I just love waking up on cold mornings. But sometimes because of the cool morning air, I tend to curl up back to sleep then run late in my classes. Other than the cold mornings, I’m excited for Christmas because of the break, the food, and the gift-giving.

Philippines is probably the only country I know that celebrate Christmas the longest. Most of the people start decorating their houses in September and take down the decorations in the second week of February. For our house, we put up our Christmas tree last week after the Halloween. Last year, our theme was blue and silver but this year we sticked to the red-green-blue theme and added a little gold and silver accent. We also had more Christmas lights this year so I really feel happy looking at the tree and the decorations at night.

Christmas break also means that my friends who are not studying in Iligan are coming home, and of course, the annual school alumni homecoming. Last year, I was not able to attend but this year, I will definitely go because I already miss hanging out with my highschool buddies.

Oh I forgot about the Christmas shopping! It’s one of the reasons why I love Christmas too. Christmas means lots of sales in the malls! Even though it will be crowded during Christmas sales, I enjoy seeing people on the rush to find something to give to their families, friends, and godchildren. I think the crowd and the long lines at the cashier complements the Christmas songs playing at the malls and the Christmas decorations that can be seen everywhere.

It’s really Christmas in just a few days. But I’m not as excited as last year.. Because despite the happiness I feel in the air, it’s still feels lonely deep inside because my family won’t be complete.

Just like all the Christmases my family had for the past 9 years, my parents will not be with us. So it will only be me and my 2 sisters who will celebrate Christmas again. It’s lonely even though we have been already used to it. I hope next year my dad will come home for Christmas. For now, we need to endure spending Christmas on our own. I hope next year he’ll come home and I’ll definitely do my best to cook a very tasty Hamonada. hahaha! (coz actually, last year, i failed. hahaha!)

that's me and my sisters with our cute christmas tree. this was taken on the new year's eve of 2009

For the Philippines, I know a lot may not have a grand celebration this Christmas because this year have been very tough a year for us. The loss of an ex-president, the typhoons, the economic crisis(which is happening all over the world), and the Maguindanao Massacre(which I am going to talk about in my next post) really put the Filipino people to the test. But Filipinos are happy and hopeful people, we are known to be very positive even after the troubles so I believe, even though our Noche Buena will not be as grand as last year, the true meaning of Christmas will prevail in the hearts of the Filipino people.

our Christmas tree for this year

advance merry christmas everyone!

– darksphere

what’s so bad about being in a call center?

whatever people. go get a life. what’s wrong with working in a call center? it’s a decent job.

i admit, i too despised the call center job.. BEFORE. i mean duh.. what’s the purpose in studying hard in a university to earn an IT degree if you’ll end up in a position that even highschool grads can enter? sorry. i was a bit harsh before.

why do people look down on you when you say you’re working in a call center? more so if you graduated a degree in college. more especially if your degree is IT or Computer Science.

when you have a degree in nursing, everybody expects you to take the board  exam, pass it, and work abroad. when you graduate with a degree in engineering, everybody expects you to be in the industries months later. when you graduate with a degree in education, you are expected to take the board, then be a teacher. when you graduate with a degree in IT, not everybody will agree to a common expectation from you. some will expect you to be in the industries and/or work for software companies while a reasonable percentage will expect you to be in a call center. but of course, only those who don’t have a background of what an IT student works hard for in college agrees with the percentage of the latter.

your mentors, you classmates, your schoolmates, will never expect you to be working in a call center after college.

so why do people end up in call centers?

– in this industry, it’s so easy to find jobs. businesses from developed countries are so focused in designating their manpower to production therefore outsourcing is the fad. and where else would they outsource? of course from the underdeveloped countries where the cost of labor is close to T.Y.

– have you checked our inflation rate? did you check that cash register tape from your groceries? do you watch the news? it’s crisis everywhere. and it’s so felt especially in a third-world country like ours. that’s why even doctors opted to become nurses years ago right?

– take a look at our country’s employment and unemployment rate dear. when you get a job in the Philippines today, you are really lucky.

– the salary is really enticing. why the hell would someone say no to 20,000 Php a month? especially if you did not graduate college, if you are in dire need of money, if you don’t want to be a pain in your parents’ ass anymore for being unemployed though you finished college..

not all people who work in a call center just receive calls. there are also other departments (like programming dept) you know. and even the people who actually receive calls should not be underestimated because they might know more about networks than someone who studied a subject of it in college. yes. people in this position, which even highschool graduates can apply for, receive training not just in english speaking but also in the fields of the product where in they are assigned as support representatives.

i came to write about this topic because i got a little pissed by people who shoved to my face that working in a call center is such a pity situation for an IT student. they ask, “what? in a call center? what will you do there? ” at isa pa, “kung mangarap na man lang gani, dako dako-a pud(if you’ll dream, dream bigger)..” and what’s worse than someone who’ll doubt if you need those IT books you have for your OJT?

i am not saying that IT grads should never take a call center job nor should they look down on those positions. what i’m trying to point out here is that, one should not be judged by the difference of his/her educational attainment and the job he/she ends up with or wants to take in the future.

the reality:

– it’s global recession

– we are in a third world country

– there is inflation, unemployment, and job mismatch

– outsourcing is in; and

– people have different tastes [malay mo feel jud niya mag call center]

these are based on my own observations and listed as my own opinions. your opinions are also very much welcome. this is a free country ‘ayt? 🙂

mao to. bow.

– darksphere

an encounter

so there’s a radio station here that has a Korean segment every night and i got hooked in listening and requesting. gah. i’ve been tuning in every night for two weeks now. but tonight was a different experience.

i hope i can just not talk about it. but i can’t.. it was just.. different.

he did nothing but tease me and piss me off. but i liked that conversation. weird ei? he also said i’m a weirdo.

well maybe i’m a weirdo. it was such an unexpected conversation. i just called up to do my friend a favor but something else happened. i forgot about everything i am supposed to do and spent an hour of my life talking to someone i don’t even know. i enjoyed it. that one-hour encounter was a fraction of my life that i came out of my box. for the first time. this big smile painted in my face right now.. i can’t explain it.

back to reality. i still have lots of school requirements to make.

– darksphere