Musings of a Fox

Shakey's

2009-09-25T03:02:00.001-07:00

Am currently addicted to Shakey's.

Today I've ordered a 2-pieces chicken meal.

The gravy is ok, but the chicken is very yummy. Just right crispiness, moderately big portions.

Too bad it's located outside Eastwood City, so I hardly go there. But when my craving for their chicken is too strong for me to ignore, I summon the energy to walk from the Excelsior to the overpass, and way past Acropolis, just to get there. I figure it's a 15-20 minute walk.

The price isn't that bad either.... I think it's just around 120PHP. Not bad at all.

While there, I also order the Chicken & Corn soup - which is a really nice blend of shredded ham, chicken, and Picnic (TM) shoe-string potatoes on top. Mmmhmm...really yummy.

Now, when am really starving, I order an extra Mojos n' Dip for my appetizer. Caesar dip, of course :)

Today, I think they have a new variety of the Mojos and they call it Mexican style. I didn't try it yet, but it seemed interesting. The friendly waitress informed me that it has more spices and more "stuff" in it than the original flavoured Mojos. I guess I'll try it on my next visit.

Aside from these delicious offerings, they have thin-crust pizzas. Unlike my hubby, I don't enjoy thick-crusted, too oily pizzas. That's why Shakey's is one of my favorite places to eat. I love the Manager's Choice, the Shakey's Special and the Pepperoni Crunch.

Everything that I like is here. I just hope they either move in Eastwood city or set-up a new branch in the Eastwood Mall.

Mushrooms on my Ceiling

2009-09-22T02:16:00.001-07:00

*Sigh* My ceiling has been leaking since July. Hubby and I haven't had the time to ask someone to come over and fix it.

So, typical of people who have this kind of problem, we just aligned an empty pail we don't use anymore on the area that has the leak, so that it won't spill on / flood the floor.

I didn't know that we've been procrastinating on it too long until I saw the 3-tiered mushroom growing invertedly on our ceiling!!

It was soo funny. Me and my hubby were laughing hysterically last night. The stalks were really white. The umbrella-like top (what do you call it anyway?) was a light brown. And besides the fact that it was growing on our ceiling, it really looked yummy, hahahah.

My hubby wanted to "harvest" it. But I told him it could be from a poisonous variety.

Anyways, come this morning, I wanted to look at it again before I go to work, but found that it dried out. The stalk was a mild brown and the umbrella-top is now a shriveled leaf.

Too bad, I hope another tier grows again. Ooops, scratch that, I don't want more fungus growing in my house.....hopefully these mushrooms find its way in my garden. Then I guess I wouldn't mind as much.

Nevertheless, I wish to offer this space in my blog to thank these mushrooms for giving me and hubby a humorous night, last night.

Addicted to eBooks

2009-08-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Just found a link to e-library. Am so addicted to eBooks nowadays. Lots of good books available online for free. The link below takes you to e-Library, you can download lots of self-help, business and other great books of various categories in that website. I even got 1,000 eBooks for free just by linking.

eTexts and eBooks Directory Free for addition of one's own e-books. eBooks rating. Free eBooks.
Electronical Books in PDF.

Rain and Foxes

2009-08-06T00:47:00.001-07:00

Am usually a fan of the rainy season.

The rain, the grey clouds,and the strong winds somehow give me more energy to survive the day. The balmy elements of a cloudy sky giving me more inspiration to work, and work more.

I always want to look outside my office window and gaze at the wonderful rain showering the metro. To see the strong winds, making the decorative trees bow. I want to go outside and enjoy the day, the wind whipping my hair all over my face.

Today's different though. i wonder what changed. I still appreciate the essence and beauty of a rainy day. But here I am locked at work, seemingly depleted of energy. Why can't I absorb the energy with which the rain usually bestows upon me.

Am soo tired. I feel tired. I want to laze around the whole day and do nothing. "Low Bat" a typical slang by us Filipinos to describe a person who is lacking energy and enthusiasm, lethargic / spiritless. This is exactly the best way to describe me right now.........

Ugh, I wanna go home, and enjoy this wonderful weather in the comfort of my own house. Sigh, am in no mood to work.

It's 3:40pm and am counting the hours to 5:30 or 6pm. Hope I can go home by then.

Italianni's

2009-07-26T22:53:00.001-07:00

I guess it's about time to blog about my favorite restaurant of all time...Italianni's

Gosh, how I've missed the wonderful Angel-Haired pasta in tomato sauce, mmmmm...the ever-tasty caesar salad with chicken, yummmy!!

Working here in Libis, I am always taunted by the sight of the Italianni's restaurant from my window across the street.
So near, yet so far..... I mean how do you get to cross the border to One Luna building anyway?

Good news for me though, is that they have moved to Eastwood Mall. Yey!! Can't believe how lucky I am. Now am just walking distance away from my favorite cream of spinach or whatever soup of the day they have. :)

My tasty piccolo sized calamari, (salivating now, aaargh) is just minutes away from me.

Not to mention the panacotta... so rich and satisfying after a great meal.

What's more is that the ambiance of the restaurant itself is worth coming back for more. Nice, courteous staff, cozy, homy feel of the place, what more can anyone ask for? It's just the right environment for a really big meal to share with family and friends

Some people complain about the price of the food, but I say it's worth it. You get big portions and every morsel of food that goes in your mouth has assured quality.

For the budget-conscious, they also have this promo this month which offers a big platter of viand (steak or fish of your choice) with pasta and dessert. It wouldn't cost more than 500php, and it already comes with drinks.

Hope they also open up a buffet, similar to that of their Megamall branch.

Really love this place...oh, well look at the time.....time for lunch :) Guess where am gonna eat? :)

Chili Peppers @ Eastwood Libis

2009-07-24T03:49:00.001-07:00

Located at the 3rd floor of CyberOne Building, Eastwood, Libis.....the newly opened Chili Peppers had its "dry run" today .... and believe me, if that was the dry run they surely succeeded in making the dining experience memorable......in a NEGATIVE way.

I thought these kinds of openings should make the diners feel impressed and more likely to come back to their diner. Unfortunately, I don't think they've thought of that... The minute I looked at the menu, then gave my order, I felt like a trapped animal who wanted to run for the hills :) Instantly I wish to turn back and go eat somewhere else.

The cashier was friendly, but she was the only highlight in the place.

The food is sooo overpriced. I mean they didn't even try to compete with Tenderoast (hmm, need to do a separate write-up for this). I was soo surprised at how overpriced the steaks are. They were about 250-300php each, unlike in Tenderoast which were either 99php - 200php only. Plus, the one thing that really made me want to retract my order is that they don't have drinks!!. They only have filtered water. I don't really like drinking water in ready-to-serve-pitchers because you don't really know how potable it is. I mean most people I know get sick or get bowel problems after drinking water in some dining establishments ..and I am really cautious about that so it won't happent to me. I swear, I really thought of just forgetting the order and walking out, but the lady behind the counter seemed really nice and I thought to myself that maybe, the food quality might just redeem itself from the inadequacies of the place.

I mean have you ever heard of a diner or a restaurant that doesn't serve drinks? Weird, they were forcing water on people, haha.

So I ordered my Chubster Chicken and soup of the day. I was given a semi-dusty plastic cup. Which I only found out that it was dusty when I was pouring water in it. Because there are fingerprints outside the cup...oh well I managed to get over that. Really.

I was given a number for my order so I waited patiently for it. While waiting , I went to the utensils area to get my fork and spoon. I was surprised at how irresponsible and unclean the container for the utensils is. They don't even have a heater nor have they diluted the forks and spoon in warm / hot water to kill the germs. It was just in a plastic bin...the sort of container used when the crew are cleaning the dishes / forks/spoons. I was aghast. I really wanted to go already but I couldn't because of my order. I was sincerely mortified by how low the management's standards are when it comes to the overall maintenance of their plastic cups and utensils.

After that, when my order was ready to be delivered to my table, the nice register lady, called for the busboy to claim the dish at the counter and deliver to me. He was currently inspecting the counter where the water and utensils were.....and he ignored the girl!!! I mean I had to claim my own food at the counter because the busboy did not want to deliver it to my table...the customer's table!!!. Amongst the other negative things I was thinking of the place already, I added how untrained their staff is. I mean, I didn't know if it was just me or if he did that to the other customers. But I swear I was on my best behavior, I was cool, calm and wasn't even complaining at all. I just kept my thoughts to myself.

I was affronted, but I continued on.....I was determined to get through the meal... I looked at the Chubster chicken, and it was an acceptable size. Taste is good, somewhat garlicky but nice. Oh yeah, it was served with semi-cold and lumpy gravy. As a matter of fact, the food wasn't hot at all. The soup was also lumpy but the right temperature. Not that delicious. Soup of the day was cream of chicken..but it didn't taste anything like cream of chicken. The taste was just similar to those quick and easy knorr powdered soups that you stir for like 15 mins (nothing wrong with that, but you have to cook it properly so that it wont be lumpy...but apparently the Chili Pepper's chef didnt know that).

To be fair, the place is only on it's test / dry run. However, I think they should have worked on impressing the diners during this stage rather than giving them a negative impression of their starting diner.

Overall, I wouldn't really want to go back to the place. I'd rather go to Tenderoast for my cheap steaks. Or to Italiannis,if I wanted to splurge.

Where to Buy a Mailbox??!!

2009-07-06T03:11:00.001-07:00

I've been on a quest to purchase a real live mailbox here in the Philippines for 2 weeks now.

I still can't believe that decent mailboxes can only be found online or in the States. I mean c'mon?, don't we have stores here in Manila that sells these things?

Am so frustrated with the hunt. I tried checking in Y!A where I can buy one, all I got is a cheesy response that I can't buy any mailbox here.

Have we underestimated the necessity of having one? Or do manufacturers think that only the rich would need such a "luxury" that they all hopped over abroad and sells their mailboxes there?

The only mailboxes I've seen here in the Phils are those that are built in with those old rusty (or quick-to -rust) kind of gates.

No sense of fashion there. No variety either....Oh well , worse comes to worse, I might indeed buy mine online. So disappointing that we don't have any here in our country.

Crocodiles

2009-06-29T04:36:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to post this cute song regarding a Crocodile. And I am dedicating this to one of the worst crocodiles i know...yeah, you know who you are..... The song was sang by Mary Louise in episode 114 of the Muppet Show. Again, I do not own this song. Later on I'll try to get an mp3 of this so everyone can enjoy listening to this, and who knows maybe you can identify your "crocodiles" within your own turf.

Never Smile At A Crocodile

Never smile at a crocodile
No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile
Don't be taken in by his welcome grin
He's imagining how well you'd fit within his skin
Never smile at a crocodile
Never dip your hat and stop to talk awhile
Never run, walk away, say good-night, not good-day
Clear the aisle but never smile at Mister Crocodile
You may very well be well bred
Lots ot etiquette in your head
But there's always some special case, time or place
To forget etiquette
For instance:
Never smile at a crocodile
No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile
Don't be taken in by his welcome grin
He's imagining how well you'd fit within his skin
Never smile at a crocodile
Never dip your hat and stop to talk awhile
Never run, walk away, say good-night, not good-day
Clear the aisle but never smile at Mister Crocodile

The Return of Twister Fries

2009-06-24T22:58:00.001-07:00

After the upset with Jollibee I had yesterday, today brings in a new and wonderful surprise.

I went to McDonald's Eastwood Mall today, and guess what? The oh so yummy twister fries are back!!

I didn't notice it at first but after I ordered the cashier asked me if I would like to add some Twister fries with my meal.

My expression was like WHAT!!! I didn't know it's back!! Wow, after waiting a year to have that available again , I got my wish.

McDo will certainly be seeing more of me because of this.....

:)

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Gravy Anyone?

2009-06-24T19:04:00.001-07:00

I know that am over-reacting on this one. Can't believe that I wrote a blog about it as well.

Have you ever gone to a restaurant / fast food joint and ordered for steak in their menu?

Have you ever asked for more gravy / sauce when the gravy on your steak isn't enough? Or when the gravy boat (or container or whatever it's called) doesn't have that much gravy in it?

Have you been charged for that requested gravy?

That happened to me yesterday @ Jollibee. I was soo surprised that they are charging extra for their mushroom gravy.

In the rare occasions that I eat in Jollibee, I usually order their burger mushroom steak. It's actually the only thing I can eat there aside from the Jolly Hotdog and fries. Anyways, the steak is usually lathered with generous mushroom sauce / gravy.

Unfortunately yesterday, I ordered a 2-piece of that and what I got was a dried up pair of mushroom steaks. So I asked the cashier / counter girl to lather a bit more gravy on my order since there's hardly any gravy at all. And then she told me, that she cannot do that...I have to pay for extra gravy...........

And so, I was like WTH!!! How can you charge me for extra gravy when someone in your kitchen didn't put enough in my order!! -- Of course I didn't say that out loud for fear of making a scene for some silly gravy dispute. And I didn't call the manager because I felt really embarrassed because, it really is just about gravy... and people might think I couldn't pay the extra charge.

Sure they were charging me a measly 10pesos for their mushroom gravy, what is 10pesos right? But the principle of the thing is, they were charging me something with what should have been complimentary in their menu!!! I mean, gravy is just like ketchup, salt, or pepper...it's supposed to be FREE!!

I could understand if it were a fine dining restaurant, where they could have put in some extra special ingredients to their sauce...but still in all my jaunts in fancy restaurants they don't even charge me anything for the number of times I've asked the waiter to refill my gravy boat.

BUT, hey, this is just Jollibee. Their gravy isn't even at par with the quality of KFC's gravy...and KFC, fyi people, do not charge their dine-in customers for their delicious gravy.

It just seems to me that the Jollibee corporation has become sooo greedy that they even stooped so low as to charge their customers for these supposed complimentary items. It seems that they cannot sustain their food industry without going after their customers' pocket change.

Oh well, am truly disappointed with this. It would be a long time before I give in to my craving of burger mushroom steaks in their restaurant, hopefully never.

Laxius Force

2009-06-23T03:36:00.001-07:00

I'm recently into this RPG game. It reminds me of my college PSOne days. Everything is just 2-D...and I love it!!.............So nostalgic of the times when everything was just about the storyline, the plot...and not just about the graphics.

Am just in Chapter 1... I know, kinda pathetic...but old age is my excuse.... :)

Plus the fact that I have a job now and all my carefree days are now over.... :)
Will try to find time to finish this game.

Tears to Tiara (episode June 22)

2009-06-21T23:42:00.001-07:00

Ugh, I completely missed watching my favorite program in Animax.

I was so pumped to watch Tears to Tiara (TTT) especially after watching Octavia and Lidia fight in the previous episode.

I am waiting for an Arthur x Octavia pairing *cross-fingers* and I sure hope I can watch the replay later tonight......but that in itself seems impossible.

It was the classic tale, either watch this anime on the idiot box or help my hubby with a competition he's preparing for. So I took the high road, and have foregone my selfish desire to watch TTT. I helped hubby with his presentation, to which he graciously called me today, and informed me that the outcome was great. His panel was genuinely impressed with his performance in that round of the competition. Great isn't it?

But I still have this nagging feeling that something really cool happened in this morning's episode.....

I really hate to read the spoilers in some forums, so I opt to wait for the encore telecast this evening...if I can catch it. Thing is I need to literally fly home to get to my house from work. Now am just whining... I'm so addicted... :)

I still have some 4 hours left at work before I can sprint to a shuttle and get home. Hope the traffic won't be so bad.........

Anyways, am staying positive that i can watch this episode tonight.

Time to end the non-sensical rambling and get back to work :)

Lipton Milk Tea

2008-12-12T01:22:00.000-08:00

This is just a spoof of the poem by Joyce Kilmer (Trees). Just to describe my love of Lipton's new product, Milk Tea.

Lipton Milk Tea

I think that I shall never see
A drink as wonderful as milk tea

Milk tea that comes from a cup
that serves as this girl's warm hug

Milk tea I thank God all day,
that you're here free-flowing everyday (and i do mean FREE)

Milk tea that's warm and light brown in color
makes me sigh in your tasty splendor

Upon now, whose warm liquid lays
in my parched mouth as always

One cup of milk tea is all it takes
to make me last throughout the day.

Poems such as these are made by fools like me,
but only Lipton can make such great Milk Tea.

(END)

TOTO'S LECHON

2008-12-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

In search of a cheap place to eat without sacrificing quality and taste, this Wednesday, I found myself insde Toto's Lechon.

Located at the 3rd Floor of Cyberone building, I was amazed by how cheap the prices were. I was skeptical, food this cheap must not taste very good. There must be a catch somewhere, I was proven wrong.

I ordered the fried porkchop with free soup...and apparently free vegetable side dish. It was great, and it cost me only 88 pesos!!

Said order was soo delicious, I couldn't believe it. They also have a wide range of vegetable side dish selections. Gravy was good too, they have 2 choices. They gave me the darker one, I think it was for the lechon. But it tasted great with the porkchop. The meat was sooo tender and not an ounce of fat....just the way I like it :)

The next day, curious to see if I would be satisfied again by their dishes (aside from the fact that I'm broke, pay day isn't until Friday). I ordered the 1pc fried chicken with free soup and iced tea. It costs only 64 pesos (take that Jollibee and McDo!!! ). I felt I was eating Chickenjoy (TM of Jollibee) without the over-inflated price. Food was great again, customer service was good. My taste buds were thrilled, I definitely enjoyed eating there.

Today, Friday, while waiting for the salary to come in, I had brunch again at Toto's. Determined to find a fluke in the said eatery, I ordered the chicken strips. As we all know, people who love to eat chicken strips may encounter a crispy outside, gooey inside chicken (example KFC). In other words, chicken strips can be really cooked on the outside but half-cooked on the inside. I was expecting that from Toto's, and yet again I was proven wrong. Their chicken strips were fantastic!!! It was really cooked evenly. And it cost me only 69 pesos for the chicken strips, soup and side dish plus 19 pesos for the iced tea. Overall price of 88 pesos.

Basically I was able to live through the week, thanks to my jaunts in Toto's. Eating a full meal at less than 100 pesos a day is an achievement, especially if you work in Eastwood, Libis. I mean, Eastwood has lots of food choices but most are really expensive and sometimes the less-expensive ones sacrifice quality, customer service or cleanliness of the dish / diner itself.

Suffice to say I am very satisfied with my dining experience in Toto's. I wouldn't mind going back there even after pay is credited :)

Calendars and Foxes don't Mix

2008-07-28T01:35:00.000-07:00

The stupidity never ends.

I know I've ranted this out a month ago, but still the problem persists.

I have undeniably mentioned that am not cut out for PA work, but why? Why does it always end up on my lap? AARGH. It's so frustrating.

I've been working from home for 2 weeks now. Enjoying the comforts of being able to work and being able to rest at my own convenience.

However, this does not mean I have shirked any tasks that I normally do in the office, rather this has inspired me to prove to my colleagues that I am still a very responsible person, in terms of getting the job done, regardless if they can see me or not in the office.

As of today, ONE truly puzzling task was given to me. I was advised by one of the AU managers that I was cited BY MY MANAGER that I am the best person to organize an agenda for a foreign visitor visiting our office on August 25.

My only reaction to this was: WHAT THE ##**!!! In the first place there is no basis to say that I am the best person to organize the said agenda. Since I've never done an extensive agenda before, nor do I know how to go about it.

Some would say it's pathetic that I don't know how to make an agenda. But really, I've never done one for other people (other than a training agenda for a call center team, in which I am directly involved). Mostly, I don't know what the visitor wants nor do I know for sure who are the people involve that he wants to talk to. Second, I really couldn't care less about this guy's agenda, since the topics he wants to discuss are unfamiliar to me and am not really directly involved in any of the discussions.

Some would say I should be flattered that my manager thought that am the best person for the task. But this guy doesn't even know my capabilities!! How can he say that am the best person for that task, he has never seen me do that kind of work before. Which led me to believe that he was just spewing crap.

I've said it before, it's soo frustrating working with a manager who doesn't take the time to know your capabilities, what you can bring to the company, much less your name! It was weird to read the AU manager's note. I swear, if I wasn't incredulous over the said comment that my manager gave about me, I would have been laughing my socks off.

Much more, the visit is going to be on Aug 25----I have already informed my manager a month ago, that the said date is the start of my maternity leave. Sheesh, he hasn't even assigned a back-up for me to train for my tasks. So far this team is really so disorganized. They don't have any training plans for their managerial staff and they all panic like chickens with their heads cut-off when something serious happens. Most of the time, they spew lies to clients to explain why they weren't able to do their jobs properly. Others don't even have the gall to come face-to-face and explain their shortcomings.

I can't wait to start my new job on November. I just hope to leave all the bad influences that I've been exposed to for 1 year and just move on and continue where I left off before I've ever heard of this position am in right now.

McDonalds vs Jollibee Fries

2008-06-20T03:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, let me try my hand on a lighter subject. Light but none-the-less dear to my heart. And that's the subject of food people!! :)

Recently, I've had a shift of cravings from chicken to fries. I've noticed that more often I've just been alternating visits to 2 great fastfood chains. Namely, McDonald's and Jollibee.

With Jollibee, there are these flavoured fries aside from the regular or the large fries. They have these Cheezy fries and the nacho fries. They also used to have this bacon and fries combination which unfortunately isn't available anymore (it was really good).

With McDonald's they have their traditional fries and the seasonal Twister fries (TM) :P And more recently they have introduced this Shake the Fries in the paper bag thing..in tandem with the Kung Fu panda movie...(don't ask me why, I see no connection whatsoever).

Thing is, am more inclined to go to McDonald's for their fries than Jollibee.

I dunno, there's something addictive about the crispiness, the flavor or the oil, Mc use to fry their fries. Unlike Jollibee, whom I remember, used to serve their fries a bit too soggy when I was a kid. It was only recently that they re-invented the way they "cook" their fries and now called it Crispy Fries.

To me the Crispy Fries vs the Mc Fries (specially the Mc Twister Fries) are definitely at a disadvantage. Unlike Mc's which I can eat without condiments, I usually need to order ketchup, or dip the Jollibee fries in chicken gravy or mushroom sauce just to get some remnant of flavour. It seems so bland to me. To think, Jollibee advertises that "panlasang pilipino, at home sa Jollibee" Does this makes me unpatriotic? Coz, I just use the Jollibee fries as a poor substitute for the Mc fries when am too lazy to walk to McDo?

I hope Jollibee sells their cheezy bacon fries again, coz the sauce they use for this is really good. If this were available, I guess they can be at par with the Mc fries. Then again, if the Twister fries were available, it would force me out of my laziness from walking and surely entice me to go over McDo, rain or shine :P

Nevertheless, at least I have options with my cravings. Having options such as Jollibee and McDo in the workplace isn't too bad at all. They're both good. Totally at a different level from each other, but at least they serve edible and certainly clean / safe food.

Hmm, all this typing about fries is making me hungry. Wonder where I should go today? :P

Missed out again!!!

2008-06-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I've ranted out everything that bugs me about work yesterday, here comes another one. Something that just happened today.

It really irks me that am working with the kind of "boss" that doesn't take time to know their employees, much more their names!!! AAARGH!! Am at the point where I don't know whether to feel humiliated, embarrassed or just plain unappreciated for being overlooked in such an important meeting.

A meeting invite was sent sometime, whenever by my boss to everyone in my team. Typical team, or at least it's typical with my team -- not to discuss the elements of this meeting, unless they want info for their presentations from me or anyone else. So I went about my Thursday in my usual bored way, unknowing of things to come.

I came in the office and found that my team-mates are in a meeting. I didn't mind this as we usually have meetings for 1 hour every Friday morning. I thought this was just it, and since am one of the few who are not required to join that meeting at all, I just went about my tasks on my desk.

Unfortunately my assumption was incorrect. The call they were having was anything but "usual." They were already introducing themselves to the new "big boss" of our project on the client's side. I only noticed that they were taking too long with the call when it was like 15mins before it was over.

I didn't know what to do. The chance to make a good impression to the new guy is gone. I peeked into my boss's calendar (remember they gave me the scheduling task I hate so much), and found out that he DID send an invite to this call, but instead of inviting me, he invited the WRONG PERSON. Same first name as mine, with a really different last name as mine. UNBELIEVABLE.

I swear, my boss has been here for several months already. I've sent him countless of emails and joined him in several meetings. It's just so stupid that he still doesn't know my name. How IDIOTIC is that??!!

This is the FINAL STRAW, am sick of these guys. Am so sure now that more than ever I'm gonna be looking for another role within the company. Nothing to do with this team. It really sucks. And I really hate them more now. I want to stay away from these people as much as I can. Good luck to them finding someone who can take over the tasks am doing right now. Specially with my excel programs and such. Good luck to them finding another push-over, who's content to sometimes work on the background just to make them look good.

Am so TIRED of them. I think this is the signal for me to end all of this depression, discouragement and dissatisfaction in the workplace. Am getting out of this team, and l am gonna look for another which would be good for me professionally. If this is something not achievable within this company, then am sure there are others outside the company with a better work environment than the one I've been exposed to in this team.

I hope no-one thinks am being rash about this. The thought has crossed my mind on several occasions. The only thing holding me back before were the benefits and the salary this company offers. I considered the benefits back then since I'm about to have a family.

I've postponed considering offers from other companies this year due to my situation (am pregnant). But after I give birth, I hope to give them the shock of a lifetime. Am sure they wouldn't see it coming. DORKS!!!! AAARGHH!!. Let's see who gets the last laugh!!! MWAHAHAHAH....

Bored out of my mind

2008-06-18T19:51:00.001-07:00

Here I am doing the same old thing, same routine, same everything.

Kinda gets boring, since my usual workload can be done in the first 2 weeks of each month. And since this is the 3rd week of June, there really is nothing left for me to do, other than the annoying no-brainer kind of reports or PA work (no am not a secretary nor a PA, and no I don't mean to insult them.....am just not into deskjobs).

To expand, no-brainer reports, these really are "favor" jobs coz the guy whose supposed to do these cannot / does not know how to even type a single line in an excel sheet. PATHETIC.

Tasks which I said were PA work. I realize that PAs and secretaries are very organized people and can really work their boss's schedule for meetings, lunch, etc. I am really at awe on how they go about their work and their patience. So, which brings me to my dilemma, am a manager that works with other managers but for some unknown reason I got the scheduling task...which is really not my thing. I hate calendars, I hate looking at other people's calendars and I couldn't care less about their meetings, which usually does not include me anyway. I hate bugging people I don't even know, just for someone who isn't capable of organizing their own schedules. It's soo frustrating!!!!!!

Aside from that, there really is nothing to do around this time of the month. As it happens, am just surfing and wasting time away....in a quest to find something meaningful to do.

Most people would say that am living the good life and just enjoy the ride. Sorry people, I don't share that view...that's a very lazy way of looking at things. I HATE having nothing to do. That's why I go to work. If I wanted a lazy lifestyle I would just stay home, get bloated, and just be a bum for life. Besides, what good are the number of years I've gone to school and studied, just so I can become a non-thinking drone?

I've always thought....and I still believe that having more than enough salary can make me happy and satisfied with whatever task am doing. I'm just finding out that mental challenge, serious and meaningful tasks in the workplace are just as important.

I may have matured a bit in my views of work and life. 4 years back I would have told anyone that they're crazy should they want to go to a less-paying job to satisfy their personal quirks in exchange for a high paying one.

But now, I think that having a high paying job is not enough anymore. Just sitting around in my desk, fiddling with my laptop, waiting for work to come to me is just too insulting for my brain and developed skills / capabilities. I've felt like I've reached a dead end in my career.

I miss the earlier years, where the adrenaline pumps as I create and analyze my reports...finishing them, hopefully, within the deadline. I miss encountering issues and the success and pride I feel upon resolving them. I miss the recognition and promotions that accompany a job well done. I miss managing competent people, the cooperation, the achievements, the one goal that we share. I miss having a "real manager" who can effectively train me for more tasks, can make the most of my time on the job, who can efficiently mentor and coach me on my weaknesses.

And the only person responsible for losing all that is ME, I exchanged them all for a higher salary....believing that it wouldn't matter as long as the price is right.

I couldn't have been more wrong. I guess, satisfying my wallet isn't really enough. I've learned a lot from my experience in this new role I have. Only thing though, the lessons I learned where not of use to my professional growth, but these lessons I've learned are more of self-awareness.

As I sit here in my chair, typing my blog, knowing that am truly bored and dissatisfied with the career path I've chosen, I realized that not all things can be satisfied with money.

It's true, I will not resign from this job just because of my personal dissatisfaction. Money is still important (i mean GET REAL). Money is still a priority, but second to that, in my future career decision, would be the criteria: Would I be truly happy here? Can I really be satisfied professionally? Will I reach the level of contentment that I desire, the dynamic environment I have been craving for?

The game has changed for me...I don't wish to be bored anymore, I don't want to be under-utilized. I'm a skilled worker and I need to have an outlet for that.

A new quest has begun for me and am more than willing to take a chance of starting anew. In a new game where I can be a player and not a collectible item. All because I DON'T WISH TO BE BORED ANYMORE.

Crazy Escalator, Messed up Building

2008-06-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

I know that there are more important things in this world to blog and rant about than the topic I've just mentioned. And of all things why does it have to be my first blog entry? However, as a very pregnant woman in my last trimester, am pretty miffed with the maintenance and poor facilities here in Cyber One building.

My company has an office here and unfortunately, due to some poor scheduling of maintenance activities, we tenants are mostly affected. I've only been working here for a short time, but in these few months, the escalators have been malfunctioning and breaking down constantly. The administrators of this building are obviously not doing their job in inspecting and ensuring that their equipment are capable of servicing the needs of their tenants.

Say for example today, early this morning, the escalator going up wasn't functioning again. Forcing some people, including myself, to go up the steep elevator. And believe me that wasn't such an easy task, given my weight and rounded tummy. Aaaargh, it wasn't something that I would want to encounter first thing in the morning before starting my shift. Finding the stairs wasn't something I thought about at first, since I really have no idea where it was at the time or if there was one located on the ground floor. It was only during lunch time that I decided to explore the third floor (food court) of this establishment and found the stairs. The stairs are discreetly placed in some remote location.

Then during lunch time, they deactivated all escalators, while they fix just ONE malfunctioning unit!!!!!! Forcing everyone else to go up and down the same shut-down escalator while the other one is being fixed. I guess, to make light of things, just like me, not everyone thinks of the stairs at once :D I wanted to eat @ Pasto today, but have to cancel that plan because I don't want to go back to the building, bloated and all, then climb up an escalator that wasn't functioning or use the stairs (sorry if this seems tres lazy of me..i just can't help it, i feel so heavy)

Last month it was the 3rd floor escalators that malfunctioned. And as I recall, almost every month, there is an instance where one of the two escalators going to the 2nd floor are unusable.

Moreover, the number of elevators of this building are not enough to accommodate the number of tenants. Especially during peak hours, such as 8-9:30am, lunch time and sometimes during 5:30-7pm. It takes too long for the elevators to get to us. Considering there are only 2 available elevators each for a batch of floors.

Point is, CyberOne has high caliber companies as their tenants. It wouldn't hurt the admin of this building to invest in some state of the art equipment to cater to their tenants' employees and their foreign visitors. Come to think of this, I heard that Mdme President also visited this place a couple of years ago....wonder what she thought...hmmm.

So in short, am tired, frustrated, and wasn't able to go to the restaurant I want to eat in for lunch today. I forfeited going out of the building since I don't want to climb up the stairs or the steep deactivated escalator. And I presume, when it's time for me to go home later, it would take 5-15 minutes of waiting patiently for the elevator to arrive at my floor. And if am lucky, the elevator am going to ride in, wouldn't be the usual sardine can of employees, who, like me, hopes that no one has BO, will get their toes stepped on or worse.