Damned

Whoever coined the phrase “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t”…well, must have been damned. Recently, other than my favorite acronym SSDD (Same S____ Different Day) - which I love to interchange meanings – the damned phrase (pun intended) enters my brain more often than before. Right now, I can’t think of a better cliché that is so applicable each day of our life. And why is that so?

In our science classes during elementary grade, we were told that we humans actually belong to the animal kingdom. But what sets us apart (other than we can write lame blogs) from our crawling, flying, swimming and walking (i.e., apes) brethrens is the capability to make choices, not instinctively, but intelligently – although the bible is one proof that our great great great ancestor Adam “might” have instinctively gave in to Eve’s temptation to take the supposedly fruit of knowledge (and that I find ironic). For whatever the real reason is, I think we won’t know, but I have a suspicion (hint: they’re fully naked back then).

I find this capability to think and to decide a double-edged sword – that is, it cut both ways. Each action we make right after a decision will be taken or understood differently by different recipients of that action. To complement this, Newton’s third law of motion states: “For every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction.” It’s just the way it goes – no more, no less.

So does that mean that the author of the damned phrase may possibly have been Newton as well? Actually, I don’t give a damn. But whoever it was, he has my respect because I find it simple yet striking. It summarizes one lifetime of decision making into just 8 words.

Now are you wondering what made the damned phrase go in and out of my mind like an LSS? In the past days, here’s a couple:

·         Company business updates that gets majority of the employees jumpy and grouchy. My take on this? It’s just same story with a title that changes every time, as I always tell those I’m conversing with about this topic. That’s 15 directly under me, and several other colleagues that at times I find the topic get so monotonous that it makes me think of recording my replies for the next similar discussion. Sooner than soon, this story will end (I’d like to divulge, but I’d rather do it as a Grinch-who-stole-christmas type story. You’ll read about it soon. Probably Christmas time).

·         Bayani Fernando who has been in the news, forums and FM radio lately. My take on him? Ever since I learned about this guy’s work, principle and vision, my admiration for him started. I’m one of those Filipinos who look up to a strong leadership which have become so scarce for years here in the Philippines.  I read from one survey that he’s not winning approvals from most people because of the way he operates – that is, quick and he doesn’t care who gets in the way. Although, he’s got some kinks to work out among his group (i.e., MMDA), I believe that his personal policies are firm and he’s just the type of leader that we NEED. By the way, he has mentioned that he’s running for president come 2010.

·         The latest and hottest subject lately – motorcycles – due to new LTO guidelines, frequent accidents involving motorcycles, and wife protests (hehehe). It’s now a fact that with the current gas prices up and I predict, will go up again – this prediction doesn’t need a Nostradamus to do – everyone now thinks of an alternative to go around town. Both of those who used to take the public transport (e.g., buses, jeepneys) and even those with their own cars are now considering buying scooters or underbones. My take on this? It’s a no brainer that with the almost unstoppable gas price hike, an alternative transport is a must have. However, if a motorcycle is your choice, it requires a fully “functioning” brain to drive it defensively. Brain drives Rider. Helmet protects Brain. That’s Win-Win.

With our daily life being about decision making from the moment we wake up, drive to work, deal with people at work and until the time we get back home and sit front of the TV (and start changing channels), it’s really no wonder if every now and then…we will be damned.

Donut Choices (Photofunia done by wifey)

Stressed@Work

 

August is just around the corner and I still can’t believe that I still have work to do. And of course, I’d like to keep it that way as long as possible. Contrary to what I’ve imagined how the 2^nd half of this year will look like – after the gloomy, yet anticipated April 2 announcement – the environment at work still appears challenging enough, at least for me.

 

Although activity in my area seems to have significantly slowed down in the past few weeks, the pressure to meet commitments and deliverables remains unwavering as before. This means that feeling down and out for the count is just out of the question – at some point, I may slacken a bit but I still find the need to get back on track so as not to get left behind.

 

The recent stress which had me feeling a total mixture of emotions (from passing gas to collapsing and vice-versa) was the presentation of our 2^nd quarter indicators to the next level managers and other key players. Its preparation started about a month before and the extraction and crunching of data almost took much of my time. What made it even more stressful is seeing some of the indicators in a down trend even if the reasons behind it are perfectly justifiable.

 

Presentation day came and I felt that the 12-hour day is turning into a 24-hour vigil. Most of the time I just felt excited, jumpy and the butterflies inside my stomach kept on flapping their fragile wings. On that day the feeling of anticipation and anxiety was all over the place and even those senior to me felt the same way. Indeed, public speaking still remains to be one of the most common fears by most individual.

 

My turn to present came at last but in spite knowing that the foils are self-supporting and shows factual data, the fear of being questioned and not being able to answer was just overwhelming. If I remember it right, the last time I was into this predicament was when I asked for our wedding’s approval from my now father-in-law. I was focused yet awkward and the words were hard to come by.

 

Surprisingly, in the end, the horrible questions I was expecting from the start didn’t come. There were some inquiries, comments and advice that registered into my then half-conscious state but that was it. More surprising was getting a compliment from my direct manager who rarely recognizes a job well done. At least, I must have done something right. Whew!

 

I went home that night feeling proud and accomplished. I was even singing along with the FM songs inside the car like I’ve just been accepted in a job interview. And there’s no better way to cap the day than to treat my wife and I with a couple of slices of my favorite comfort food – a Red Ribbon black forest cake. Yummy!

 

With that event done, I now feel more ready to face another work-related stress. Whatever that is, I will surely know in the next days to come.

 

 

 

evidence of stress

 

Counseling

 

Yesterday I attended another Leadership Enhancement Program and the recent trainings we had are tailor made for us to cope up with the soon-to-be closure of our company. Yesterday’s topic was about career opportunities and career counseling.

 

I was actually enjoying the whole training and find it very interactive and informative when it came to one of the foils. The first line of it read:

 

“Career Counseling is NOT…

·         Giving advice.

·         ….”

 

Hmmm. “That isn’t right”, was my immediate thought. I know that deep in my vocabulary the word counsel is for sure synonymous to advice. So I raised my hand to clarify if I’m reading it right and our trainer without batting an eyelash emphasized, “Career counseling is not giving an advice.”

 

The training ended by noon time and my colleagues and I went on with our kill-time activities disguised in the term WLE (Work Life Effectiveness) activities. Some did basketball, while we did a good badminton right after until past 7pm. But those positive stress activities didn’t shake off the “counseling” thing in my gray matter. In fact, while driving my wife to work this morning, I still kept on thinking about it.

 

Instinctively, while preparing breakfast for myself, I juggled with the plates and our trusty Merriam-Webster dictionary and there it was printed on one of the pages – to counsel is to give advice. I was so excited that I eagerly finish my bread, egg and meat loaf meal. I was in front of our PC after I gobbled the last piece of the processed meat.

 

In order to confirm if our Merriam-Webster hardcopy isn’t obsolete yet, I browsed through their internet site – www.m-w.com .

 

The following entries appeared:

 

Main Entry: ²counsel

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): counseled or counselled; counsel·ing or counsel·ling \-s(ə-)liŋ\

Date: 14th century

transitive verb : advise <counseled them to avoid rash actions — George Orwell> intransitive verb : consult <counseled with her husband>

Main Entry: counseling

Variant(s): or counselling

Function: noun

Date: 1927

: professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes

Main Entry: ad·vise

Pronunciation: \əd-ˈvīz\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): ad·vised; ad·vis·ing

transitive verb1 a: to give advice to : counsel <advise her to try a drier climate> b: caution, warn <advise them of the consequences> c: recommend <advise prudence>2: to give information or notice to : inform <advise them of their rights>intransitive verb1: to give advice <advise on legal matters>2: to take counsel : consult <advise with friends>

 

Main Entry: ad·vice

Pronunciation: \əd-ˈvīs\

Function: noun

1 : recommendation regarding a decision or course of conduct : counsel <he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties — United States Constitution> 2 : information or notice given —usually used in plural 3 : an official notice concerning a business transaction

With those results and the fact that this top semiconductor company have some managers whom to my shock have normally pronounced words such as Freight like Fright, Sub- like Sob and my favorite irritation, Z like Zay, I wasn’t surprised that one foil in the training material may be erroneous.

 

Like a fighter aiming to finish off a sprawling and bloodied adversary, I type “Career Counseling” in the browser’s search field expecting something that will back up my vocabulary. In a matter of seconds, several results appeared and I eagerly click into each one of it and prepared to celebrate my victory over the foil item in question.

 

 

To my dismay, not one of the sites shows a bit of “Career Counseling IS about giving advice…” to support my argument. Instead it listed common words such as assessment, aptitude tests, planning, decision making, development, research. It was almost about everything related but advice. That left me raising my white flag on this subject matter.

 

As much as I hate defeat, I come to realize that Career Counseling is not just two words that can be discussed over a one-on-one meeting which in our case would only last from 15 – 30 minutes every 3 months (grin). If one staff gets lucky (or not) enough at all he’ll be into one of it at least 3 times in a quarter. Career Counseling is actually a task to be handled by a professional Career Counselor and if you’re not one of them (like me), most likely, you can only advise. Come to think of it, I might as well consider a career as a Career Counselor. Ti abi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing for Bum Days

 

Every working day seems to be getting gloomier and gloomier. Don’t get me wrong but I’m quite sure I still exude a positive look to most people – to my colleagues, to my peers. In short I’m becoming a professional hypocrite. Ti abi. But that’s the way it should be right now. There’s no point in surrendering even if the fight seems worthless. Sooner or later I’d be a bum. But until that time comes I try to be positive. Remember: choose to be happy.

And what am I doing to prepare for these days? I make sure that I equip myself with “bum tools”. And what are these so far?

1.       Unpaid car. Nice to drive around with. Necessary to eliminate couch rashes.

2.       Books. Lots of it. I think I’d be able to read most of it while in career hibernation. I’d start to worry when I start re-reading my wife’s Archie comics.

3.       Cable TV and Internet subscription. Other than being certified bum tools, both may well be my connection to the outside world; which reminds me to check the schedule of the TV show Til Debt Do Us Part.

4.       DVDs. Got to have popcorns and beer to go along with these.

5.       Brother. Yes, a brother, a brother that can help me distribute my resume print outs while on a job hunt. It’s a Brother all in one printer. Nice tool.

6.       Rubik’s cube. I don’t know if the recent recession and attrition is the reason why this cube puzzle was revived. I’m seeing a conspiracy here.

I think I’ve got quite a stockpile already. I’m sure these could pretty well keep me occupied for days to come.

***

The Brother all-in-one printer that we got is the 150C model. Although, we’ve checked HP’s  and Canon’s model before finally purchasing it, I still consider it an impulsive buy. Hahaha. Anyway, as reckless as it appears, I think we got ourselves a good deal as I’ve been actually eyeing to have one since more than a year ago. A printer, scanner and copier in one package and at the price of nearly Php 4000 (<USD 100) is well spent. I guess.

This brand may not be as popular as Canon or HP when it comes to printers, but the features it has are competitive enough. Its interface is user friendly. And its overall case and parts appears sturdy. It actually reminds me of our Brother portable typewriter which I’ve done a good deal of torture but still remains in operation until now after more than 15 years. Hopefully this multi-printer will stay strong just like his brother (pun intended).

Scanned images and print outs appear better than expected as well. At first we got disappointed when the photo prints outs had lines in it, but then after reading the user’s manual (duh!) and following the instructions, a better print came out. I can’t say it’s perfect, but it’s like just any other photo I received from my sister who I know got a Canon photo printer and from some friends who developed their digital images thru professional developing centers. By the way, it has 4 ink cartridges (black, magenta, cyan and yellow) which makes it economical. Only the consumed color gets to be replaced. Needless to say, my resume will use up only the black one first.

Nothing is perfect though. So upon installation I saw some issues with it. The scanning software doesn’t have a preview(hopefully, I just missed it), unlike my Canon’s LiDE 20 which I find very useful as it lessens scanning time when doing small size papers such as paper bills which I used to test it. I later read in the manual that it’s illegal to scan money. Don’t worry I don’t intend to forge my 500 bill. Though I wish it will multiply just like that. Ti abi.

Lastly, I find the AC cord and USB connections weird. I expect the AC cord to be at the rear part and the USB port just somewhere visible. The port is hidden underneath the scanner bed which must be lifted in order to access and connect th cable. I’m still wondering why its designer decided to place it this way. I can’t see the reason why (I just don’t know if the other multi-printer brands are set up just like it).

 (AC Cord on lower left corner. Scanner bed is shown as lifted to access USB port)

(Red arrow pointing at USB port) 

Overall, this neat multi-printer will make the top brands a run for their money. It’s like David vs. Goliath. It’s like AMD vs. Intel…hmmm. It’s a stretch, but let’s not go there. It’s for another blog.

Trying to be Merry on Christmas

 

I’m now officially one of the Grinch. After 13 years of landing a job, last night was the first time I reported to work on a Christmas Eve. Normally during this time of the year, I’d either be in my hometown – Bacolod, or in Batangas celebrating Christmas with my wife and our family.

But then everything changes. And this year that change came to my career and left me no choice but to stand by it and be at work - technically, to role model. Ahem.

So yesterday afternoon I was actually feeling some mixed emotions as my time to go to work nears.  I was feeling excited for this first time event in my profession; and at the same time I was feeling uneasy and sad that I’d be celebrating my Christmas eve  without my wife or family with me. I’d be with my peers and people instead.

By the time I arrived at our plant, I can feel that the mood is surprisingly festive. The sight of employees with bags of gifts added to the holiday atmosphere.  The smiles and greetings are unwavering and infectious. Well at least whatever the reasons for the jolly characters, I know I’m surrounded by good aura for the rest of the graveyard shift.

Everything went the usual way just like any ordinary day when work kicked in. I was actually thinking, “Well, not bad. I can actually be a nurse, a pilot, a fireman, a security guard or a doctor on call…”or any other personnel who is expected to work even during the holidays. I felt like I’m not missing a big event or a love one. Well, not yet.

Break time came and a special dinner for all the manufacturing employees was served. The special meal was accented even more by a special dinner table setting. We’d be eating with candlelight. So by this time I was becoming even more convinced that working that night will be no big feat. I’m even starting to enjoy it. The sight of the lechon worked like a charm.

Right after dinner, I was back on my desk doing some routine tasks when I heard someone mentioned, “Sir Christmas na po (Sir it’s Christmas already)”. That’s when I glanced at the wall clock to see that it has struck midnight. The greetings around the production line competed with the humming equipment and audible alarms. I returned the merry wishes but caught myself faking a smile. I suddenly felt sad. I felt a lump in my throat.  I tried to contain myself.  And as if by a snap of a finger, I missed everyone whom I used to be with.

Probably this experience will stay with me until the next year. The feeling of having to choose between work and being with my love ones is a perfect dilemma.  Something’s got to give. And whoever said before that “Work is just a slice of life, it’s not the whole pizza” is mostly someone who can afford to sacrifice that slice. Unfortunately I don’t have the pleasure of doing so. When that day comes I’ll be the happiest.

Leader’s Dilemma

I was in a Leadership Enhancement Program yesterday and from start until the end of the whole session, this notice was projected along with the MS Powerpoint presentations. “The lamp has reached the end of its usable life. Please replace the lamp.”

Ti abi. Has our company ventured into subliminal messages to condition our mind? Is there a deeper meaning in that message? Well, it’s for us to find out I guess.

Anyway, I find the parts of the session disturbing, alarming and often times interesting.

During the first half we had a segment with an American and I was quite surprised when he frankly butted in while someone was trying to highlight a point by saying “…I think this is a cultural thing with us Filipinos…”

The expat answered, “Actually, it’s not just you Filipinos who have this problem…” That one rescued me from my developing daydream. (Started to feel proud? Still no.)

What was being discussed then was about taking full responsibility when problems arise. I guess he hit the nail on the head with that answer. I learned from him that even other people from other culture (among our multinational network) would instinctively point their fingers to others to save face. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m always awed when Japanese (mostly feudal period) would commit hara-kiri when they know that they are a dishonor to their family or organization. Bloody, yet graceful exit. Come to think of it, isn’t it time we include a tantō inside our factory? Most likely it will stay pristine.

Another part of the program that amazes me most was when all of us were grouped into seven. Each team was to gather from each members their idea of a strong leader and then for each group to create a hypothetical person bearing those ideal characters.

After several minutes of brainstorming and discussion, the result was stunning. The common thing that most members (i.e., in each group) want is a leader who is a firm and tough individual. I almost blurted, “…but we have that one here in our organization!…”

I find that result both interesting and sad. It’s like a reflection of what most of us currently do inside and outside of our offices.

We want a leader who is firm and tough, yet we get offended when he takes over.

We want great roads and infrastructures, yet we don’t pay our taxes completely.

We want a clean surrounding, yet we spit and throw our trashes anywhere.

We want road courtesy, yet we drive just like how the other damn drivers drive.

We want health, yet we fail to do something about it.

We want jobs, yet we don’t do it properly.

Every thing we do on a daily basis, basic or complex, entails responsibility. Most of the times we need to make a conscious effort to do it well so that at the end of the day we get to go home, kiss our wife (and kids), have a beer, go to bed and say to the lord, “Today, I was honest and good.”

The Ship is Sinking…

After almost a week of rainfall (due to tropical storm Chedeng) I was amazed to see the sun shine yesterday. So instead of settling on my seat and trying to get some sleep while in the bus to work, I opened the curtains and tried to savor the afternoon sun beams.

I was anticipating an interesting ride all the way and was already imagining a beautiful sun setting on the horizon turning its color from golden to red-orange. Sadly it wasn’t meant to be. Even if it did, I didn’t notice it anyway.

My daydream unfortunately turned neither to fantasy nor romantic. The sun beams instead opened my eyes to a depressing sight just a couple of meters from departure at the bus stop until I eventually got to work.

It was actually not the first time that I’ve been pondering on the state of our country every time I’m on my way to work. But yesterday I had a handful. Sadly, a handful of bad observations that made me ask the endless why.

At the first intersection the green lights turned to red. I saw the pedestrian overpass’ construction is almost coming to its completion. And just while I was about to ask the cliché, “Will it ever be used?” a familiar ambulance siren grabbed my attention. Well, someone must be hurt. “God bless him”, I softly uttered (as I usually do every time I hear one coming). The wish though was done too soon. It wasn’t an ambulance but it was coming from scooter driver who sped by and turned left ignoring the red light and the police nearby. What’s more depressing, the police didn’t even made a fuss about it. Not even a radio call for help or assistance to apprehend the erring driver. But then again, he may not even have a radio (or the balls to do so) on hand – ill equipped that is.

A couple of kilometers after the trip resumed, a colorful bunch of things came into view outside my window. I would really have wished it were blooming flowers but again, in reality it’s not. It was a pile of plastic bags & trashes irresponsibly tossed (and accumulated) on one corner of the road. Is poverty a good reason for this insensitive act? I just don’t think so.

I thought I was uncontrollably shaking my head in disgust when I realized it was actually the bus bouncing and weaving left and right of the road to avoid the potholes. Damn. One week of rain made all these? Blame it on the rain then? Milli Vanilli could have done that but not me. I’ve been honestly paying taxes and I know where and when (not before and during the election) some of it should be spent. Most likely somewhere out there, another politician and/or contractor must be happily drinking booze and probably counting their kickback. Screw the road. Cheers!

As if all those weren’t enough, we got stuck in traffic. Another intersection may be? Breathe in, breathe out. Stay calm. But it’s not. Just outside I saw several public jeepneys on the opposite lane idling and vying for passengers unmindful of the long queue of other vehicles behind them. So why is our lane stuck too? That’s because another mindless driver from that queue felt smart enough to counter flow. And surprisingly he isn’t a jeepney driver. He’s driving a shining Honda. He’s smartly dressed. I rest my case.

If it weren’t for the seatbelt and the person beside me the preceding event would have sent me into a yoga stance right then and there. Now where is my golden sun? It’s getting dark outside. Figuratively and literally.

The sky outside was overcast when we reached the front gate of our company’s campus. Despite the poor lighting the worsening condition of the facilities didn’t escape my eye. (In photography, enthusiasts use filters and lenses to capture what they want to achieve. My eye and mind yesterday was like that. Only I didn’t do that on purpose. It was as if I have a “bad” filter that was meant to see…well, “bad” things.) Paints are peeling off, roofs are rusting, and the once regularly well-trimmed lawn has weeds coming out from everywhere.

The people themselves changed a lot since then. I can count the people who got off the bus with enthusiasm to work for yet another day. The contractors around are working with incomplete PPEs. And a lot of bad sentiments are present anywhere I go. Something is just so wrong. Something must be done.

I got into some discussion with my co-workers about this and there was one phrase mentioned that struck me the most. “The boat is sinking”. Probably it is. Sadly, I’m in it.

I’m sending an SOS.

Bad and Good Email Subjects

“Good things comes to those who wait” - Anonymous

Today was almost perfect. But sadly another great creature passed away. Upon opening my email this afternoon, I saw this subject: Baby the Bulldog! 5/18/98-7/29/07. At first I hesitated, but then opened and read it nevertheless. It’s confirmed Baby died. The inevitable did come.

I’ve been a fan of this lovable bully since we had Styro who was also an english bulldog just like Baby. I’ve been receiving email updates and occasionally in contact with Dan (his owner) who himself is a great multi talented guy. Aside from being a good pet owner, he’s also a construction estimator, author and sculptor. He’s so fond of Baby that he dedicated a famous website for him (and the rest of his four-legged gang).

I just can’t imagine his sorrow right now after having Baby for 9 years. We “lost” ours after just a year and we we’re almost devastated. Please drop by http://bullybaby.com to appreciate their wonderful companionship.

Goodbye Baby.

****

Whew! After all that, it seems hard to for me to compose what I initially planned to write. Anyway, today was actually a very good day for me.

It started last week with an unofficial (I’d like to think so) SMS on my application update. “That’s good”, I thought, but I tried to be reserved. Then as if by coincidence the priest’s homily on Saturday’s anticipated mass mentioned about –“I’m not believing, until I see it”. Well, when I opened my email at work the following day, the subject - Congratulations! - Application Update almost made me jump out of my chair. That first word alone made my day.

Now I know that the maroon shirt’s jinx has been washed off indeed. When I was called for this position’s interview I was having doubts if wearing that shirt was a good idea as it was the same shirt that I wore when I got dumped by a supposedly good employer. (Am I getting superstitious or what?). But of course I know that wearing the black one would be sending a bad sign as well. Come to think of it, I only have two pairs to choose from. So, that leaves me no choice.

And so today, I started my training as a new leader. I’ve been waiting for this chance for so long and now at least my efforts (and my wife’s prayers) paid off.

Four more days of training. I can’t wait to start to meet my people.

Definitely not SSDD

One of the movies that influenced my life somehow, just a bit somehow was Dreamcatcher. I actually read the book (my wife gave it to me as a gift) first before I was compelled to look for its VCD (no “original” DVD yet that time). Other than the fantastic plot, story line, setting and characters, I love the word that it introduced me – SSDD. Same Sh#t Different Day.

You see most days lately have been SSDD. No choice, but its been like it. Work. Home. Work. Home. Off. Play. Mall. Those things even done in pleasure becomes SSDD, in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong though, as sometimes I’d just utter SSDD just for the love of saying it.

July 20, Friday, wasn’t meant to be.

10AM. After waking up late and a brunch meal at home, I was on my way to work. Driving my car for a quick trip so I could be on time for my 11AM interview. This has been one of the much-awaited moments in my career. Just another chance to step up. Hopefully. Fingers-crossed.

And just along the way, I was repeating on my head over and over again the answer to the question, “How do you deal with difficult people?” You see I dreaded this question, the last time I was asked this on an interview, I fumbled. I failed.

The interview came late but I think I did fine. The dreaded question didn’t came. Whew! And For the delight of it, I got my wife and I a to go lunch from Tokyo Tokyo on my way back home. Japanese food to go please. Namit.

Past 7PM. This was supposed to be a routine one. I was doing the weekly cleanup of our hamster’s habitat. I was almost done re-assembling his trails and he was the usual jumpy rodent eager to check it out. Surprisingly on his way out in the middle of the trails, he sled and looked stunned while resting on top of the stopover point – called the space explorer.

So I grabbed and raised him to see what went wrong. Once I laid him down though, my wife saw that he was panting, breathing heavily and just laid still. Oh oh.

I once again lifted him up and checked for pulse. There was none. My wife tried her luck. It didn’t work either. Hollie was gone. It was heartbreaking for us. I did shed a tear (It’s funny how a small creature can mean so much) while I was completing the whole trail. It’s empty now. No more running & cage biting noise for days to come. He was 2 years and more than a month old.

Past 8PM. Hating to leave home with just the recent event, I pushed myself to take a bath, get dressed and am on my way to a co-worker’s house. It’s his farewell party. He’ll be leaving for abroad by Monday to work at another company. It’s been like this at work. People leaving. Those left behind enjoying the party (farewell) while it last. And probably be leaving also anytime soon.

Well, that’s life. Sometimes it’s just the same things going over and over again. Sometimes new things come (and go). And often times I’d wish that it wouldn’t just be SSDD.

Meeting The Most Hated Person

“A difficult conversation you have been dreading will go a lot better than expected today — it turns out that other people have been whispering in this person’s ear and have been warning her or him about the thing you have been wanting to talk about. So this person is ready to talk to you, and ready to work with you. There is going to be a great deal of positive collaboration in this day overall. Every idea will lead to another, more exciting idea. Keep going!” – Sagittarius Horoscope, June 19, 2007.

Working in a company that is (or was?) known for being a great place to work, it is surprising to know that there is one person that stands out as the most hated. He’s known as SH. I’ve been thinking the acronym happens to mean : So Hated(?). Well that was what it really seems to be, until the day we met him.

On June 19, I was one of those privileged (or doomed they say) employees to meet SH for a forum. The moment I learned he’ll be on the “hot seat” for this meeting, I had mixed feelings of eagerness and anxiety to be in it. Since he joined our company a couple of years ago, this person had created so much confusion and literally fear in most of the meetings he’s been into. Ask any person and more often than not, you’ll hear bad comments about him. This meeting will be my chance to meet him up front.

The time came. Upon his arrival in the room, everyone seems to tensed up a bit as he started calling the names of those present – getting to know the enemy, I presume.

I was the first one to shoot the question as others are starting to gauge the atmosphere of the meeting. Some are probably composing their statements, as it would have to be in English (easiest of the tasks at hand). SH is an expat.

For a first time meeting and to think being the first question, the phrases, “…I’ve heard terrible things about you…What do you think is the morale of the people working with you…” seems to have been shocking if not improper. But it had to be done. It had to be asked.

Almost without blinking an eye, he seems to have anticipated that a question such as this will come up. I guess he just knew he’s one hated man indeed. I won’t elaborate on his answers but I know he did well. It was direct, convincing and rational. He explained his side well on his strong policies and management style. He mentioned that the very least thing on his list of working as a manager is to be a pleasant and popular person. He’s one strong leader I can see. I look up to those kind of person.

After the meeting all 11 attendees seems to be a convert. All seems to have been enlightened. He’ll need to talk to 3000 more. Hopefully he can turn the tides for the company. But that’s another story.