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

back to school tomorrow + new year’s resolutions!

gah. and i hate it. i have to study two chapters over the break ’cause we’re having a written and oral exam tomorrow. but! haha up to now i still haven’t finished the first chapter. how sad. how lazy of me. but this happens to me after long periods of no classes. haha. maybe i’ll get back to focus after this week.

i finally had a list of new year’s resolutions. i really wish i can keep ’em. some are skeptical about new year’s resolutions. why wait for the new year to start anew? well, wouldn’t it be nice to start the year with good deeds? and i think it’s just timely that after a long Christmas break/vacation spent having parties, pigging out, having movie marathons, we’ll meet the new year by starting a change – a fresh new start for another 365 days to follow. it’s not that we cannot renew ourselves some time in the middle of the year though. you can always do whatever you want. you may or may not keep your new year’s resolutions. you may or may not make one either. life is all about choices after all.

anyways.. i really hope and pray that i can keep my new year’s resolutions! i can do it! aja![i’m still thinking if i’ll post my new year’s resolutions list]

ok… i think i should start studying now. ugh. i hate 7:30 am classes!

-darksphere

today’s blast!

today has been a roller coaster ride.. first off, i went to fetch my sister to accompany her looking for gifts for her christmas party tomorrow. then i went to get that ‘let’s speak korean’ dictionary from Book Sale. we got hungry so we decided to fill our empty tummies first before we continue our shopping. while i was in the middle of eating my fried chicken, people in the mall were rushing through the exit doors and the police started to surface. the people in the fastfood were not affected so i thought there was just a car accident or some crazy “tambays” causing commotion, so i just continued eating but seconds after, my other sister called me and told me to go home as soon as possible because a department store in the city was bombed. that’s when i started to feel nervous. we hurriedly finished our meal and went out of the mall. then i saw the entrance doors being blocked by security officers, the traffic diverted to another route hence closing the street to the mall for entry. while we were on the jeepney on the way home, there were many things going through my mind..

-it was too bad my shopping had to end..

-this is the first day of my Christmas break demmit!

-i was already enjoying picking out books and eating my meal!

-i had so many things to buy! i was not even able to buy groceries!

-but thank God! thank God my sister and i are safe.

-thank God we did not leave the mall and continued shopping to the establishments that were later bombed.

-who could be the ones responsible for these bombing again?? these terrorist are really…&^&*%(&^%^

-the people who were hurt.. the people who died.. it breaks my heart as i think about how it happened that in the morning before i fetched my sister, i passed by those stores and watched those people doing their job in placing the baggages in the shelves, then hours later, they’re dead.

-[and while stuck in the traffic on the way home because of  cars lined up for check point..] yes that’s why terrorist can easily make their way to the city because these soldiers assigned in the check points don’t even look at what’s at the back of private vehicles, don’t even open the doors of the cars and inspect what’s underneath the passengers’ seats.. they just look at the face of the people in the front seats then voila! bombings! because of their carelessness??

-or because these terrorists have been living here.. and just a call from their co-terrorists, they can assemble a bomb and drop it in crowded places in no time.. so easily..

-after these bombings? what’s gonna happen next? war? [no classes? kidding.]

-shocks.. what’s happening to my city??

-God save us..

then we finally got home.. i listened to the radio and i got pissed with the radio reporters. where’s free and unbiased journalism?? how can you just easily accuse Maranaos of being responsible of the explosion?? you say you were just reading text messages sent to your station?? now if you’re a real journalist even if you yourself believe that they’re to blame, you should be fair in giving news and delivering your responsibility.. wth.what if i tell you that this land'[i believe, as far as my research is concerned] truly belongs to them??  i’m not a Maranao or Muslim hater. and i’m not saying they are on the right stand either. and i’m not saying that we Christians [or] Filipinos are right to drive them away. i’m still in search for the answers and causes. argh. then i turned the radio off.

i searched for a movie to watch online and found 200 Pounds Beauty. it’s a very nice movie! it temporarily caught my attention and worries about the bombings and the security of Iligan. what i really like about Korean movies is that you can’t predict how the storyline would flow.. except for the endings which i noticed in most of the Korean movies i watched – there’s always someone, an important character in the story who dies. weird. that’s the only predictable part. but 200 Pounds Beaty didn’t end with someone dying. it’s such a feel-good movie. funny, tear-jerker, and a movie with sense[on my own definition of sense].

hmmmm.. what else..

oh yes. i was able to buy the Korean-English-Tagalog book. the very little book which costs 95 pesos. haha. at first i was disappointed [i found out about it from my friends] but ended up buying it. don’t judge the book by its appearance. hahaha. i know it will be of great help.[hay. my frustration. learn hangul. :)]

i also bought another book! The Prize by Flavia Weedn. one of the best [of the very few] books i now own. i love it.

ok.. another long post.  i’ll stop now. i want to sleep. or maybe read. 🙂

for the news article about the Iligan Blast today, click HERE.

that’s all for now..

– darksphere

this girl’s Christmas rants

. . . When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep

. . .   When you lose something you can’t replace . . .

in less than two weeks it will be Christmas. everybody’s looking forward to it. and here’s a girl who doesn’t even know if she’s going to celebrate the joyous season. she hates Christmas. not because she hates Christ but because Christ didn’t allow her to spend a number of Christmases the way she wants it. she’s selfish. no, she just wants to be happy. everybody does. she hates Christmas because not because she has no money but because she doesn’t have someone to go shopping with, not because she doesn’t have something to eat for Noche Buena but because she has no one to share it with, not because she hates preparing the cake but because no one will need her help in making the frosting, not because she has no gifts but because the gifts she used to eagerly wait to open will never be put under the tree again, not because her tree looks bad but because nobody got mad at her in putting the Christmas ball at the most awkward part of the tree, not because she doesn’t want to wake up at midnight at the sound of the firecrackers but because she knows no one will scold her when she wakes up an hour before midnight because of excitement.. she hates Christmas not because she is alone but because even though she has these special persons surrounding her, she still feels empty. and she hates it because she knows that the emptiness she feels will never be filled again. never again..

its been years and a lot have changed.. the world continued living.. so did she.. she is not bitter. she is not living the remainder of her life in grief.. she became happy. she jumped in excitement.. she fell in love.. yet no one, nothing can ever make true happiness feel the same way – the way she felt way back when she was complete – for her. lots of Christmases has passed.. lots of birthdays.. important events.. ordinary days.. sometimes no matter how you push yourself to move on (or even when you just lift all your grief to Him for comfort), in some parts of your life, it won’t work. there’s always a time when you’ll want to go back to some blissful moments but end up getting hurt and crying because you know you’ll never take it back again. of course. there’s death. how can you ever take them back? all that it left her were memories, unread letters, poems kept, un-showed feelings..

everyone, everything kept her feet on the ground and standing.. all voices kept saying everything’s going to be okay and life must go on.. so easy for them but it was like hell for her.. as if living because of life support.. she got through the first painful parts of moving on – deep sorrow, denial, acceptance.. she got through them.. and even though she was bruised, she held on.. she continued living.. now, she’s on this point in her life.. everything she needs is supplied.. she can’t ask for more.. but still she feels empty.. she can’t ask for more.. because what she wants to ask for will never be given to her.. life. that life she had.. the life she wants back.. people.. the people she loved.. the people she misses.. she can’t ask for more.. because what she really wants to ask for will never be fulfilled in this life, in this place, in this time..

she thought she had every right to be bitter and to blame but she was wrong. cliche as it may sound, this is life. all the Christmases where she felt true happiness will just remain to be memories.. locked in her photo albums, old Christmas decors and her heart.. the heart that will never feel the same Christmas feeling again..

sleep! you nocturnal chic!

i’m having a hard time thinking what topic this post will be about.. so here..

________________________________________________________________

Frustrated? It may be because you’re trying to make something happen that only God can make happen.

Whenever you are doing what God has called you to do, it is important to rely on His strength, His grace, and His power to complete your task. You will become frustrated if you try to make things happen on your own strength instead of relying on God. God is the author and finisher of His plans (Hebrews 12:2), and you must not try to take the place of God if you expect things to work out.

In Colossians 1:26-27, Paul reveals a mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations… Christ in you, the hope of glory. In other words, there is something that people of the past didn’t know—it was hidden from them, a mystery to them—but Paul is now revealing that mystery to us: Christ lives in all who believe in Him! No longer is God just with his people—God now lives in his people!

Also, note that it is Christ in you that’s the hope of glory—not Christ and you.

Paul then continues by saying that he labors and works for the gospel, but all of his labor is really done by Christ’s power, which so powerfully works in [him] (Colossians 1:29).

If you’re trying to labor without Christ’s power at work within you, then your labor will be frustrating and in vain. You need to stop trying, and start dying to self so that you may be alive to Christ’s power.

Struggle and frustration occur when you try to do God’s job by your own strength—rather than relying on Christ’s strength, which is at work in you.

________________________________________________________________

maybe i am.. sometimes you through difficult times that you must choose to go through it by yourself. . .

updates?

ugh. because of last semester’s activities, requirements, etc. my sleeping patterns got messed up. i became.. nocturnal. and it’s not a good thing. i want my old sleeping patterns back! so yeah. i tried last night. and it was a struggle!! hahaha. but really. it was. i slept at about 11 pm then i woke up at 12:30 because i thought it was already morning. i slept again and woke up again at 3. then at 4. ugh. my body got so used to have only 5 hours of sleep of even less. i need to sleep normally again. another struggle to face again tonight.

it’s the 2nd day of December. a few more days and it’s Christmas. how will i spend the holidays? i don’t know. same as last year maybe. then the same will happen next year.. the year after next.. . . .

school life’s starting to get serious.. last week we were loaded with lots of assignments. maybe this week, quizzes. ugh. i’m still adjusting and preparing myself for more 181-like situations. one more year.. just one more school year.. i need to carry on.. one more year and i’ll be saying bye-bye to school.

can’t seem to organize my thoughts today.. and i need to study.. so i’ll stop here.

-darksphere

in the ice

i’m having a hard time organizing everything that runs back and forth in my mind right now.. for almost a week i’ve been a couch potato and i don’t like it. i go to school but we seldom have serious classes because it’s either the teacher doesn’t come or something’s going on like a program or celebration that we’re busy of. ugh. and i hate those times because of boredom. sometimes i think i got used to the chills, pressures and rush of our 181 fever. haha. i got too used to it that the past two weeks became the most boring moments of my whole 2008. argh. i’m happy that we’re through but.. ugh. i don’t know. either i got too used to the 181 fever OR i am really not happy with the path i’m on right now. no matter what, i need to convince myself that the former is the reason. maybe this is just because it’s still november and the semester hasn’t started ‘seriously’ yet. maybe. or maybe i chose the wrong major! haha. gawsh. what am i thinking!?

so to at least make my idle hours a little productive, i came back to studying Hangeul. i’m really serious now. [ows?] i bought a new notebook for my Korean lessons, transferred my old notes there [somewhat like a review also] and of course wrote new ones, and downloaded some pdfs as guides and references. i hope by summer i can watch Korean TV shows and comprehend even without subtitles. [weeeee!] i won’t be very strict to myself in speaking ’cause i know it’s really hard.. during Fullhouse, Hankyung has been living in Korea for two years yet he still speaks broken Korean. [makasabot lang ko ug Korean by summer payts na kaayo]

second semester.. new challenges.. new people..

love in the ice..

a need for a system overhaul..

– darksphere

what’s your ambition?

i’ve got a lot.

DOCTOR/NURSE. yes. i dread blood but i like serving people and i especially love doing rounds in the hospital. weird ei?  it’s my ambition when i was a kid. when your parents and relatives ask you what you want to be when you grow up, the most common answer from kids is, “i want to be a doctor.. to cure the sick and help the poor.” haha! i wanted to be a doctor because i heard they have high pay and and i want to own a hospital. of course i’d like to heal people. this even became my motivation when i was in highschool. i studied hard and kept telling myself that i should because i will be a doctor someday and i will heal people especially those having cancer. oh. an oncologist. yes.

LAWYER. i have always been ‘maldita.’ when i was young some of my relatives told me that i should be a lawyer because of that and because whenever i get into trouble, i never run out of reasons to answer to my parents. and after i delivered my first speech, that was in kindergarten, all the more did they say that being a lawyer fits me because i’m good in memorizing. LOL. i didn’t want to take up law or any law-preparatory course because ever since, they said that taking up law will make you crazy because of the very very thick books you need to study and study by heart and you will need to memorize constitutions. dang. i hate reading books with no pictures. i makes me fall asleep. really. i enjoy reading children encyclopedias more than reading a novel. but as i grew up and got educated, i got really interested with politics and economy. i research sometimes in the internet( but not that thorough). and i enjoyed our political science class. when my college life was still easy, i try not to skip the evening or early morning news and watch documentaries about countries and leaders. i loved it. i’ve always hated those corrupt politicians that run my country and i’ve always said that if ever i’m going to be a politician someday, i will never take anything from the taxpayers’ pockets. i really want a better Philippines, honest politicians, strong economy, and a government that will lead the people to greatness and freedom not rubbish. LOL do i sound like politicking already? seriously, i want change. but i’m not a leader and i don’t think i have what it takes to be one. all i have? little knowledge about.. the 1987 constitution, some wars, biographies of some notable leaders.. lots of rants about useless politicians and policies. and my interest.. is it enough?

A HISTORY MAJOR. when i was in grade six, i almost fell out of the honor’s list because of a very low mark in Sibika at Kultura(is that civics and culture?? haha! i honestly don’t know but our lessons at that time covered the philippine history dicussed in bisaya and the textbook writtten in tagalog. i don’t mean to be un-nationalistic but can you imagine how boring that was?). i hated history then because it’s boring and if not for that low grade, i could have been… aw. ok. secret. fast-forwarding to my high school years, my teachers were <3. they made me appreciate history in the level that i did not expect i could. my Asian History (2nd year) was the best. for an early morning class, i could have slept and not listen but our teacher discussed to us as if she was telling a very interesting story. and i was amazed how she comes to class without bringing a book and discussing almost everything with just the aid of her memory and her maps. because of that, i did not fear history exams anymore. yes, memorizing was a little difficult especially the dates but honestly, i don’t memorize because i need to have answers for the quiz. i just read as if i’m reading the story of my ancestors and my family’s origins. on the days we have our quiz, my best friend and i come to school early to have a rundown of what we studied the night before – somewhat like a story-telling. i really enjoyed it. then came World History which was very interesting too. i found that bananas were the number one product for export in South America (did i remember it right?), that in Central America, rich civilizations also flourished and that there’s a lot to know about the Cold War and Russia (my report i think). In our 4th year, we had Economics. It was a little boring because of course there were computations and i hate Math. when i entered college, the first history subject i had was Life and Works of Rizal. the schedule made it boring and the fact that i took it during a summer term but i still enjoyed studying how normal and abnormal Rizal was and who made him “our foremost National hero.” then came History1(Philippine History), our teacher was.. gawsh. i can’t find the right words to describe him as a teacher. i REALLY learned a lot. plus. i was able to memorize the capitals of all the provinces of the Philippines. but now i can just remember maybe 60% of them. haha! my memory degraded ever since the internet invaded all my time to sleep. then there was History 3(MINSUPALA up to now i still cannot memorize the whole descriptive title of the subject haha! basta history of the indegenous people of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan). i actually never listened to class since what we only did 90% of the whole semester was have reporting about all the tribes of MINSUPALA. duh. how boring. during history period, i am either watching videos or chatting about videos with my very talkative seatmeates. *coughs* so i am really amazed how i got my grade. haha! we did not even have major exams and quizzes. weird. i think the only significant thing i learned was about the Bangsamoros. their history really caught my attention especially that now, it’s the main issue here in the land i live in. i really love history. it was just this semester that i discovered that it’s what interests me most. but if i decide to major in history, where will i go? back in school teaching?

CHEF/RESTAURANT OR HOTEL OWNER. i love to eat and i love to learn how to cook. my mom used to bake cakes for us and cooks really delicious native Filipino foods. i want to be like her and i also want to have a restaurant or hotel of my own but i don’t think i’m good in business since i think i’m only good in spending money. haha! but what i love about being a proprietor is that i’m the boss and manager. and having food as your product, your business will never be out of the fad because all people eat and food will always be at the top of a man’s expenditure.

IT PROFESSIONAL. tada! finally, my course. when i was in grade six, computer became a necessity for me. back then it was just because of the games and the amusement that encarta and britannica encyclopedia softwares gives me. but during my fourth or third year in highschool(i think 3rd year we had Scheme dunno if i remembered it correctly) we started simple programming. at that time, my father was starting to convince me to have IT as my major in college. yes i loved computers, i love talking about new and advanced computer peripherals, i love the internet (who doesn’t?) and i love tinkling the intestines and organs of our desktop computer but programming really scared me that time. it was not only boring but also mind exhausting. i am not so good with “Logic and Algorithms” (i failed my IT110 you know. my very first major subject. demit. and i knew right then and there that IT was not for me). i carried on until my CSc121(Data Structures I) and i enjoyed CSc151(Database Systems) but i don’t think i learned anything from my CSc122(Data Structures II). the programming problems given to us were “HELLish” really. and the most.. stressing of all the subjects i’ve encountered.. *drumrolls* CSc181(Software Engineering).. gawd. my grade is still INC and i honestly don’t want to continue fighting for this subject anymore. i grew tired of forcing myself to learn and swallow VERY abstract things that programming teaches us. it’s just VERY ABSTRACT for me. before i entered college i though IT is just an easy course that will offer you great salaries years after but i was wrong. IT is waaaaay more complicated and difficult than Math. that’s just how i feel about it though. everyone has different interests so maybe how you feel about my course is the complete opposite. i definitely cannot fit in multimedia because i don’t have the creativity it requires and because of what’s going on in my IT life right now, i think i’m starting to hate programming and software developing. there’s only one more aspect that i haven’t had a bite of. computer networks. it sounds interesting. management, it interests me too. it’s an easy subject and you get to attend conventions and wear business attires. i love it. but i don’t think i could be a good manager. i have bad temper. haha.

honestly, i want to shift to history or political science now. but dang, i’m already enrolled for this semester. of course i need to finish IT even though i 80% of my mind thinks that i can’t make it anymore. it’s just too hard for my brain and whole system to handle. having an IT career is actually not my ambition. it’s never included in my list. my father convinced me to take up IT but as time passed by i got to like it too so don’t blame him. hehe. i am hating IT now because i hate being stressed caused by things that don’t interest me or maybe because i also hate failures. i don’t really know what i exactly want for a career. i will never be happy doing something i don’t love. but i NEED to finish IT because of the benefits it can give me and my family. i’m talking about money here. IT diploma + MSU-IIT’s seal is SOMETHING! nowadays, practicality matters more. so even though i know very well that i will enjoy writing papers and doing library works about history and politics MORE than self-teaching visual c#, php, and developing information systems for organizations or business enterprises i preferred to enroll yesterday. let’s just say i chose the long-cut and the more difficult road to my ambitions. *tears*

– darksphere

two

what a weakling! why give up now? why now? you’ve come this far and you endured so why give up now?

is this what i really want? can i still make it? should i stop now? should i take the other road?

two voices. very confusing. what a weak soul. tsk.tsk. this subject. demit.

mai first

yes, another blog. i am bored with blogger. i’m bored here at home. our desktop computer is busted. i’ve reformatted it for God-knows-how-many-times and still no changes. demit. i think we really need to get a new one. argh. i’m pissed right now. really. i am. maybe that’s the reason why i created a new blog. haha! anyway, here’s the story… tentenenen!

leia shared to me a link about a “could-be-photoshopped” part of Google Map. that’s how the conversation started and we eventually went to Dubai in our topic. She gave me a link of future must-sees in Dubai and i got intrigued so i researched more. Then i found a Filipina’s blog, a wordpress blog of a Filipina working(i suppose) in Dubai. I got interested in her blog. Nalingaw kog basa. And suddenly i missed blogging. I stopped blogging because i’ve been really busy with school. (demit. i hate school now.) I thought wordpress is a more easy-to-use blog host so i switched. but hey i’ve been planning to switch since summer. it was only now that i was really convinced. yes. i think it’s better. i hope. it should be. ’cause i don’t want to transfer and make a new blog again in another site. so there’s the story of my first wordpress weblog post. and along with this post is a promise. LOL. that i will be blogging, if possible, everyday. 🙂

and oh, that Pinay that inspired me to blog again, i bookmarked her. nalingaw jud ko sa iyang blog ai. weee!

and last one, i just felt like sharing the story about my username. haha! darksphere. i’ve been using it for years. sometimes i concatenate my nickname to it – mai. i used to spend my free time chatting in mirc before and i really wanted a username that people will have no idea that i’m a girl. haha! that time, my ambition was to be a computer hacker and duh if you’re a hacker you wouldn’t want to use a lame name as sexy_chick or love_43 or worse, your full name. so i thought, maybe if i add a “dark” in my username it would sound as a guy’s username then i added sphere. i already forgot how got that though. hihi. so there. my user name. darksphere. 🙂

argh. there. i need to get back to work.

happy new blog to me!!

-darksphere