Self Obsession

on out-of-office replies

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:42:16 GMT

Ah, the wonders of out-of-office replies. I never really got to use one of those, fortunately. Oh well, except for that one time that I was supposed to be on-leave that particular day. I got my out-of-office reply ready for perusal, but yeah...I went to work anyway. Now on to why I decided to post an entry solely dedicated to this office wonder: My work colleague, Carlo, sent in an email with yep, you guessed it right (or at least I hope some of you did), his top 10 out-of-office replies.

Below are enumerated as follows:

1. I am currently out of the office at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Please be prepared for my mood.

2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.

3. Sorry to have missed you, but I'm at the doctor's having my brain and heart removed so I can be promoted to our management team.

4. I will be unable to delete all the emails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

5. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $45.99 for the first 10 words and $11.99 for each additional word in your message.

6. The email server is unable to verify your server connection. Your message has not been delivered. Please restart your computer and try sending again.

(The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see who did this over and over and over...)

7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 29 weeks.

8. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.

9. I've run away to join a different circus.

10. I will be out of the office for the next two weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Lucille' instead of Steve.

Choose as you prefer. =)

so how was you day so far?

Wed, 21 May 2008 08:39:47 GMT

Today marks my first day in Marketing. Excited is a tad bit overrating what I'm feeling right now. Above all, I'm in awe; Overwhelmed by the (not so) sudden change of work environment (and workmates). My work station's nice, which is a plus, though I don't get to own a 'cube' anymore. But whatever, i mean, I get to use the corner lot (which equates to more space, booyah!). Boy, do I have a lot of stuff to move in here, which will be a pity for my replacement back in HR since she will be dealing w/ an empty desk. But whatever, she'll manage. I dealt with an empty cube last year too. Haha.

Moving on:

So now I'm being oriented by Majo (the person I'm replacing) on the 411 of my job. She introduced me to a couple of people I would be encountering and interacting with a lot moving forward, and she even shared some tips on how to go about stuff easier. She's such a darling, how I'd love to give her a makeover (but she's beautiful either way). =) On top of that, I'm kind of beginning to get scared (though scared is such a strong word, I just don't have a better word to use at the moment, sorry). I think this stems from the uncertainty of what the following days might bring forth. My team (of 15 people) will be conducting and effecting series of blitzes and events starting next month, so apparently it means that busy days are here to stay. This will be an immersion-like experience i'll never forget.

Bring it on, people! =)

on the verge...literally.

Tue, 06 May 2008 08:56:14 GMT

you know the feeling you get when you desperately wish or hope for something to happen? when that something you want is something quite impossible; when that something you so desperately want to happen has a less than 1% chance of ever going to happen; when you've helplessly fallen into a quicksand where no one even bothers to pull you out from?; and when you know for a fact that even if that something was to happen, by i don't know, some miracle -- if miracles do exist, you're bound to spend an eternity of misery anyway? it's funny how i've come to realize that we create our own problems, we make our own quicksand and we manufacture our own bullshit.

i am flawed. this is one fact of life I am so painfully coping up the hard way. but then I don’t see the need for regrets. I’m still young, and I know there are plenty more bullshit to tackle along the way.

that which does not kill you only makes you stronger. i get to put this saying to the test. yay me.

Burnout

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:35:56 GMT

Gone are the days when I get to wake up at 5:30am, be at the office at 7:30am, work till 9:00pm, sleep at around 1:00am, and still feel mighty dandy at the end of the day.

Everything feels like a chore now.

Now I’m trying to find time to do the littlest of things. Anything I can tackle, I tackle. Nothing interests me anymore. Waiting for every hour to pass by is excruciating. I feel like my soul is burning.

It’s like I came in to watch paint dry. Now that’s painful.

(And why is it that when you’re all geared up on writing about something, nothing comes out? This is really not helping. How I pray for word vomit.)

Would somebody please read my blog already?

No?..okay.

tazo tea and espresso

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:06:52 GMT

Guy asks girl out. Girl was hesitant, but guy was persistent.

Girl eventually accepts invite.

They finally meet over coffee.

Perfect.

Nothing is as blissful as meeting over coffee on a first date…and a first date on a Friday night makes it exponentially as blissful.

I really hate it when this happens.

curled, set, and permed

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:36:21 GMT

(this subject does not in any sense reflect what's in this entry. Click here to view what i'm talking about.)

So alright…today officially marks my first year here in Globe Telecom. Now, I’ve been assessing myself, my performance, and my overall opinion on the experiences I’ve encountered so far. As far as performance is involved, I’d give myself an A+++. I think I deserve credit for the time, effort, and literally blood, sweat, and tears I’ve given for the sake of this job. Looking back, I think I did one hell of a good job (I’m patting my own back now, for moral support).

But then it dawned upon me: why not try and venture in other areas of this industry? It seems like a good challenge. I mean, marketing is not a bad place to venture in, right? I think change is good, and different is not all that bad either. I’ve turned down offers before, but I feel more confident with this one. I’ve had two job titles already, and maybe this third one’s going to be the one I might stick with for a long time. Oh well, at least I pray that it will be.

As they say, third time’s a charm.

Wish me well!

on my political convictions

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 03:35:08 GMT

Things had been pretty sickening lately, especially with the coming-out of the administration-produced crying puppet I saw last night over at the NBN channel.

Anywhoo:

Hello and I'm Back.Ü

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:40:02 GMT

And I welcome myself back to this online journal that I don’t really ~~use~~ update, and that people don’t really read…but it’s fine, really..what, you don’t believe me?..alright, you win. Suit yourself.Ü

I’ll still be writing anyway.

This vacation was in one word refreshing. I have mastered the art of burning cash while killing time, and no, it’s not a selfish practice. I took the time and liberty to buy special (and well thought of) gifts for special people who I think deserved it (plus there’s a certain sense of pride from knowing that the money you spend is yours Ü—working class, booyah!). I gave my parents a his-and-her watch set. It felt good that they felt good about it. I think it’s the first ever gift set they ever received from me..shameful. ;p It’s more of “giving back what’s due them” and being thankful that I got to learn more things about myself through them <insert drama here>. Not everything/everyone has been good for me/to me though, one just can’t avoid that. But just the same, they got acknowledged.Ü

I still am thankful.

Things that I’ve learned at this point so far: Hating: painful, stressful, and overrated. I think I eventually got tired of it. There ARE better things to do than diss other people. Keeping your hopes up is never bad, but one has to learn that some people, no matter how hard you try or how pure your intentions for them are, just can’t be changed. I’m just happy that I’m able to change myself (and I really am trying). I guess only three things prove to be important at this time: self control, self discipline, and self respect. Also, I realized that a lot (and I mean A LOT) of people really care even when you think they don’t give a damn. It’s suprising, really. Sometimes, the people you ignore, even those you thought you have lost a “connection” with, are the ones who’s going to stick with you and listen to you, even at your most “nonsense-est” issues. That’s one thing I’m happy about now too; that I am able to rekindle relationships with people who are truly important to me and those who sincerely care about what I think and how I feel..ooh, and that family is very important too. Mine rocks by the way (Christmas raffles are just the best!) Finally, it’s good to REALLY, HONESTLY, and SINCERELY realize that there are better things to do than to please everybody…’cause you just can’t. Ü

And realizing these makes me happy..really..you think I’m kidding?

Suit yourself. Ü

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

blah-shblah.

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 10:56:45 GMT

written at around noon today:

If it’s not the humid weather then it’s definitely the cough meds. Potent, wow. I feel light headed and dizzy, probably from lack of sleep..or maybe it’s just the drugs (erm, meds) taking effect. Babbling in mid-sleep. I can’t find anything good to write about. I definitely am light-headed. Let’s see..oh! our office a/c crashed. Spewed out black smoke that smelled toxic. Ever smelled asbestos before? I have. Don’t ask. Yuck. Had some maintenance people run us out of the office to fix the mess. The maintenance team are all men. What is it with men and fixing things? It all boils down to the ‘ego’ issue, I guess. Blah. Men. Did I just say ‘men’ 3 times already? Sorry. Now what was I saying? Oh, the a/c. Yeah, it still is broken. It’s 11 freakin’ o-clock and it’s so hot. Killer head-ache + 200 degrees of scorching Metro Manila air = Not my day. Now, if I could just figure out how to execute a slow death:

Step 1. Be born into a family with a congenital blood disorder that would require you to take certain meds daily.

Step 2. ‘’Forget’’ to take your meds for several days/weeks/months.

Step 3. Drown yourself in alcohol for 1 week. I mean the tequila/rhum/vodka type, not the pampamilya-na-pang-isports-pa one.

Step 4. Sit back and relax. I mean, die.

Words of wisdom from the one and only. I never knew Marvi has a multiply blog thing..and I call myself her friend. Shameful. She’s back from Spain by the way, whoopee.

I think I have to start doing something challenging now..if I could only find that Sudoku workbook…

busy girl is busy

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 07:39:02 GMT

Yey, I have time for blogging again and I’m back to my old working habits once more (googling, stalking people, YM…). Can’t really check on Friendster all day as it’s only accessible from 12nn-1pm; 5pm-onwards. Stupid office rules.

Anyway, on to less boring stuff..busy girl is (indeed) busy. Been working for 5 months now, and yup, I’m relatively happy. It’s totally crazy (which is understating it), but yeah, I can bear it. Rather this than my past job where all I do is sit around and wait; like watching ice melt in cold water. Excruciating? Painful.

I’ve noticed that I have this thing about getting new jobs and getting new haircuts: I always end up hating it. Darn, I should get that trait changed. Like last month, I got so excited that Francia had her cartilage pierced, I decided to have my bellybutton pierced as well (many thanks to Dominic for this, but that's another story). I act on impulse. No wonder I always get into trouble (screaming moms and stuff ;p).

Now speaking of last month, boy was it taxing. For one, Tito Butch died. Francia and I attended the wake. The whole Webb family was there : Tita Cleo, Gilbert, Gilbert's sister (who's name i totally forgot, sorry!) and the tito’s and tita’s of the Webb clan. It wasn’t as sad as I expected wakes to be (except for that one wake we were at where Cheska and I were making fun of our other relatives and stuff). Tita Cleo was there smiling, being the usual sweet person that she is..she gave me a hug which was nice and comforting, and Oly (Gilbert Oliver Webb) was there, crackin’ a few jokes and rappin’ a few lines from his foolish imbento songs (lol). There were a few moments when he would pause though, probably thinking about his dad and all. Hurtful. =,( He’s gotten really thin too, from attending to his sick dad and going to school and getting busy w/ his kick-ass modeling stint and all. The atmosphere was light, subtly festive, even. I guess that's how Tito Butch would've wanted it to be. One of the most amazing people I have ever met, he will be very much missed. Rest in peace.

On a lighter note, I got an offer for this Management Trainee Program that Globe Telecom is effecting. I had my boss as back-up (way to go, ego!), so I decided to undergo the screening process. Here's the juice, the program would run for 6 months: the first 3 months would be solely classroom-based training, the rest would be the actual immersion. At the end of the 6 months would come the car, company phone, laptop..the perks.

And the anti-climax? I turned down the offer..(shocking?..probably not). I mean, sure, I'm a people-person..i like people..generally..whatever..but heck, I won't be able to sell a leaf even if my life depended on it. I'm just not cut-out for sales: 'hitting targeted quotas', 'formulating sales strategies'..damn corporate jargon. Hit me in the head now? I would. But then again, it's not a total loss. HR is kind of my thing now. I'm getting the hang of it day by day. I never imagined myself working up to 13 hours a day (YES, IT HAPPENS) and still keep my sanity. I'm having fun. I'm like the ultimate freakin' corporate rockstar.

Anywhoo, I gotta get back to 'work'. Got some ranting people to attend to. Busy girl is busy. =)

just a note

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 01:53:59 GMT

Just had an account made to make commenting easier.

Here's the blog I really use:
http://biancarotte.blogspot.com :)