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Friday, January 10, 2014

Good News, Cielers!


Hi! Fellow Cielers!



I wish I could go to Japan this March.

Yes, I badly want to go there.

Because it has been announced that my favorite band L'arc en Ciel will have a two-day concert in Tokyo National Stadium on March 21-22, 2014, their first performance after more than two years.

Sugoi desu! One of the reasons  that I'd like to go to Japan is to watch them perform live. Oh well....

For details, please click this link: 
http://www.jpopasia.com/news/larcenciel-announces-two-shows-at-national-stadium-in-japan::15416.html



Thursday, January 2, 2014

A Brief Summary of my 2013


It's been a while since I last posted here. As expected at the start of the year, there are a lot of bloggers whose entries are about New Year's resolution, highlights of 2013, Christmas vacation and plans for 2014.

My first entry for this year is about the highlights of my 2013. One, two, three, start!

January - first month, first failure. I wanted to have a different look, so I tried to get a perm. For details, please click here.

February-I celebrated my second anniversary in my current company, Eduplaza and Spicus, Inc.


March- I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a disease of the endocrine disorder , or “any state in which thyroid hormone production is below normal”
(http://www.medicinenet.com/hypothyroidism/article.htm.). This started my frequent visits to Megaclinic and Saint Lukes Medical Center Taguig thanks to my hard-earned, incentive-based Fortune Care Health Card.

On the other hand, my younger sister was finally able to graduate in college after several years.

April – this was the month when my hubby and I had the most expenses. After almost twenty years, I was able to visit my (and my mother's) hometown, Misamis Oriental, not to have a vacation but to fix my birth certificate. The last time I checked, the document was still in NSO and I haven't received any news yet. For details, please click here.


This was also the month that I lost my hard-earned, three-digit perfect attendance incentive after I used all my five-day Service Incentive Leaves and two-day Sick Leaves.

On the other hand, my husband received a good news. He and the other contractual teachers would be given permanent posts, but they had to wait for the finalization of the papers.

May- the local election where my hubby served as one of the PCOS technicians.

June- the best month. I celebrated my birthday filled with love from my co-workers and family members. On the same day, my husband's permanent job order was released.

July- this was the month that we had to tighten our budget because my husband's salary was held since his papers had been transferred from local government to Deped.
On the other hand, we received four blessings:
  1. Hubby's 28th birthday.
  2. Our 10-1 anniversary. It was our tenth year of being together as a couple and our first wedding anniversary.
  3. On the same day, I got a part-time, home-based job as ESL tutor for Japanese students.
  4. My parents gave us a twin-tub washing machine.

August- this was the month that I got depressed the most. Did you remember the incessant rainfall due to Habagat from the 18th of this month onwards? I was still able to go to work on Monday and Tuesday, but come Wednesday, our place was flooded too. This was the time that I started thinking of shifting to another career. Please click here.

September- my younger sister's birthday. She introduced me to her co-teachers and this sparked my desire to go back to the field where I originally belong.

October- I had been sick for three days and was suspected to have dengue fever. In addition, my hubby's laptop was broken which gave him a lot of problems at work.

On the other hand, there were still blessings from God. I started another part-time, home-based job as English tutor for Korean kids, that gave us an additional income. Our cat, Catherine, became a first-time mom to five cute kittens.

November – time to receive husband's hard-earned money. Yipee!

December- I made one of the biggest decisions in terms of my career. Yes, I already tendered my resignation after almost three years of staying in the company.

To sum it up, it was like having a roller-coaster ride. We had a lot of trials in 2013, nevertheless, the Lord never abandoned His children and I declare that my husband and I belong to God's wonderful family. 

Bring it on, 2014!

Photo Source




Monday, August 26, 2013

For AUGUST 26: ANTI-PORK BARREL PROTEST


 To express my support, I am posting this in this blog.

 
Sad to say, I had to work today, so I couldn't join the protest. Working today means I will be receiving twice my daily rate on the next payday, but this doesn't make me feel happy at all, because,

DOUBLE PAY= DOUBLE TAX=HAPPY POLITICIANS


Although I would be impossible for me to attend the rally today, I have a right to express my thoughts about this issue because of the following reasons:

I AM A TAXPAYER.
My allowances are TAXABLE.
My TAX is worth once or twice my daily wage.
Not only that, every time I eat out and purchase a product, I pay tax indirectly through E-VAT.
Read my MERALCO Bill: I still had to pay tax aside from the electric consumption.
Tapos gano'n lang, 'di ba? Sinong hindi maiinis?
Grrr!







Thursday, August 22, 2013

Reprimanding Myself


Dear Ivony,

You'd been there before but you still didn't learn anything. Ano'ng napala mo? Wala, 'di ba? Buti nga sa'yo! :P

You have been teaching on-line for Koreans for more than six years, and I assume that you already knew the rules.

You were born in the Philippines and sad to say, you have never visited other countries. You were not raised abroad so you knew that every year, you need to brace yourself against inclement weather.

From 2007, you have considered yourself an unnamed member of the Avengers,an invisible member of Justice League, or a wandering Marvel Superhero by going to work amidst heavy rain; by walking and taking a ride along EDSA for a few minutes just to get to work safely and on time. There were times that you had to force yourself to call your students and conduct classes on the phone while some of your countrymen were busy relocating to safer places. In spite of this, your effort was rarely appreciated and sad to say, those students of yours who were miles away were the ones who were worried about your situation.

Did you still remember the times when you had to walk along EDSA for ten minutes? Although you were aware of the dangers that you might encounter, you'd still choose not to take a pedicab,a taxi or a jeepney because you were too stingy; you didn't want to waste money since the office was just several minutes away. Did you still remember how you and your co-workers continue conducting classes until there was no phone line anymore? Wasn't it good to remember the day you arrived at 4:45 AM, only to find out that there was a power failure along EDSA Magallanes and having nothing to do, you'd just talked to your co-workers and signed out at nine AM, walked home and went back to the office at 1:45 PM, but the situation was still on-going? The managers and team leaders decided to call it a day at 7 PM although the electric supply had been back. It was fun. It was worth the risk.

Before I forget, did you remember how Malibay had been submerged into water courtesy of Typhoon Ondoy? Boss John was so nice. Although you were not a flood victim in its real definition because the room you had rented was fortunately on the second floor and the water just stayed on the ground floor of the entire house (unlucky board mates you had), he still gave you financial assistance. Sad to say, the company that provided you the comfort and convenience (putting other issues aside) met its end.

When the previous company you had worked with stopped operating, you had an option to teach; remember, you're a BSED graduate and you passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers. There were some schools that sent you interview applications and there were some friends of yours who advised you to go back to the field where you truly belong. Also, you had some former colleagues who were able to juggle classroom and on-line teaching, and they kept encouraging you many times to try your luck in public schools; some of them even offered help. But no, due to your stubborn nature, you chose to stick with the job that gave you a not-so-luxurious life that you had ever wanted. A job that required to to simplify all things; a job that had put your patience in dealing with your students and superiors. A job you once called a dead-end job, but there you go again. For some personal reasons, you chose to try your luck again in some companies wherein the nature of job is quite similar to your former one.

Last Monday, DepEd announced the cancellation of classes. Work in other companies were suspended as well. In spite PAGASA's warning, you still went to work because of perfect attendance incentive and after hours of continuous rainfall, you were thinking of how to go home safely. Some of you even prayed for power outage because that might be the last straw that might force your boss to send you home. But no, luck was not on your side and you stayed until one forty-five PM.

Came Tuesday, you bid goodbye to your perfect attendance incentive because the streets had been flooded since two AM and the major roads were impassable anymore. Your co-workers who were still able to go to work called themselves “immortals” and had not been the creek beside your apartment overflown, I was sure you would be one of those who received a doughnut and a cup of hot choco worth five pesos from the coffee vendo.


Look at your pitiful situation. While your husband and your other friends were staying at home, you were sharing the same sentiments with your co-workers. You see, the students already received message, that typhoon had been continuously unleashing its wrath and the teachers might not able to call them. They were confused. Most of them asked you how you managed to go to work. Some of them didn't expect your call anymore, so they were unprepared for the lesson. While some of them were aware of what was happening in your country, there were some who were not, or they were, they just did not know the right words to tell you. You were more saddened when you heard the news, that last Tuesday, teachers who work in the afternoon shift were allowed to go home as early as eight PM. You were now wondering why they were given a more favorable consideration than your shift. I mean, which is more dangerous; going to work as early as three AM or earlier to avoid being late, or going home as late as 11 PM? What difference could it make when they were allowed to work three hours shorter while AM teachers needed to work their entire shift? I know that missed classes would mean loss on the company's part , but no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't figure out why. If they were able to shorten the shift in the afternoon, why were they not able to do the same in the morning? If they were able to sacrifice three hours in the afternoon, why wouldn't they do the same to be fair enough?

You know the answer, Ivony. Of course, if they do, that will be too much loss. On the other hand, the management knew that you and your coworkers aim for three thousand pesos. Three thousand is three thousand. Sa'n mo pupulutin yun? Teachers in the morning shift will surely risk themselves just to get it. Kesehodang madapa, mabangga, madisgrasya, magpapakabayani. In addition, there are employees who are still ineligible to avail incentive leaves and sick leaves and there were some people (like you) who had already consumed all leaves and absences. Imagine, if you don't report to work, you'll get deductions, your incentives forfeited plus, you will be given a memo. Again, three thousand is three thousand. Remember, the company just gave you Fortune Care health card worth 50K MBL, so okay lang na magkasakit ka. With three thousand pesos taxable incentive, pampakape rin 'yun ng asawa mo in case na mamatay ka. Oh sorry, ang morbid naman; pambili mo ng gamot pag nadisgrasya ka. O di ba? Oh by the way, please say thanks to your boss for giving you five pesos and a piece of bread instead of giving you a chance to go home early. Mabuti na 'yan kesa wala, di ba? Sayang, hindi ka nakapasok nung Tuesday, wala kang doughnut and coffee for free! Thank your boss for waiting for the decision of the board abroad rather than pleading them on your behalf since she and some of her assistants are in the Philippines.

So,ano'ng pinoproblema mo? You have a job, while others don't. You and your husband said months ago, if you remember, that this is way better than teaching in private schools with heavier workload, with lower (or same) salary bracket. You were planning to take refresher course to be qualified to teach in public schools where classes are suspended when typhoon comes yet you're still being paid. You're even planning to find another job next year. After that, what's next? Will you apply in call centers? Your hubby will not allow you, I'm sure. Find a job in government agencies? It's difficult although you passed the Career Service Exam long ago. Find another on-line teaching company where this incident might happen again? Work from home? Let's see. Teach in a real-school setting. Maybe.

It's your fault. You're not a victim here. You are a willing participant. Umulit ka pa e. They didn't ask you to apply in their company; it was your own will. It's the consequence of your choice, so don't complain. Sabi nga eh, MAGDUSA KA.

I'm done reprimanding myself.



Monday, August 19, 2013

When Saving becomes a Tragedy

Source


I just want to share what happened this afternoon to warn you to be on guard all the time. Sad to say, even in well-known banks, your hard-earned money isn’t safe against people who are greedy.

NOSTALGIA

It has been more than a year since I started making this blog. I started this blog August last year, when it was raining and I had an urge to write out of annoyance.

I'm annoyed. Again. It has been raining since yesterday (August 18)and the government officials of most cities and municipalities in Metro Manila and nearby places had already declared cancellation of classes and work . Obviously, as years go by, cases of massive flooding become worse.


I remembered, one of my topics when I started this blog was how “business is business” policy had been prioritized over the safety of the employees in this company. You see, most places in Metro Manila are already flooded, but to receive a text message from my team leader this morning that we still had to report to work was not a surprise anymore. Yes, amidst heavy rain due to Bagyong Maring intensified by southwest monsoon or more famous as “Habagat”, we were still required to go to work.

Of course, as expected, there were a lot of teachers who were not able to go to work today. I'm sure, there were some of them whose houses had not been flooded, yet they still couldn't go to work because the main roads and the streets had already been flooded. I might be considered one of the luckiest, who were still able to go to work because Comembo is one of the high-elevated places in Makati area, so flood was not that severe.

Since there were a lot of teachers who were absent today, it was raining subclasses as well. If you were working in this industry, you might understand that the company is preventing losses caused by missed classes. The management kept distributing classes here and there, to any available teachers. If you were aiming for higher teaching incentives, you would be happy but those who were already handling a lot,  this would be too much. The same incident happened last year, while “Bagyong Habagat” unleashed its wrath, but unlike last year, there had been a lot of subclasses today. And unlike last year, the Internet and the phone line were both functioning properly and there were no line problems.

I had been a bad employee, wishing that we would all encounter line problems in the office today.  Why? I'd like the management to realize that no one can beat the extreme weather conditions. I'd like them to consider canceling classes in the morning because it was already proven last year that they could cancel classes in the afternoon. I'd like them to consider the dangers that their employees are facing because some of us live kilometers/miles away and some of us live in flood-prone areas. I sometimes think, what if one of the management had an accident while on the way to work? Will they bend their rules a little? Will they realize how cruel they are to impose “no late, no absent” policy in this company? Will they realize the importance of the teachers working for them? Please, not the teachers, our family members depend on us. This is my evil side talking now. This is too much for me to wish for, I know. But when will they start thinking about the safety of their employees? Oh wait, I think this is impossible because each of them live in their own condos nearby.

So why did I still go to work? I'm a big girl already who knows what is right and what is wrong. I just went to work for these reasons: first, to get my perfect attendance incentive. Two thousand pesos. It could have been three thousand if the Municipal City Registrar was able to affix his signature on time on my petition last summer. I wanted to curse him now, but what for? Two thousand pesos. If I  maintain a good attendance, my perfect attendance incentive will be three thousand pesos by October. Enough to sustain our needs until my husband gets his salary. I cannot not afford to lose this incentive.

Second, to avoid being absent. Being absent will mean deductions from my daily wage aside from forfeiture of incentives. Imagine the big amount of money that I cannot afford to lose. Not only that, because I already had used all my service incentive and sick leave of absences, I will be given a memo whether it's an informed or uninformed, valid or invalid. Flood and natural calamities are not considered valid either. So, those who'd like to work for Korean ESL, think about it. Are you willing to put your lives into risk?

And lastly, no one forced me to work in this kind of company.  I already knew the rules, but I still I chose to work here. For six years since I graduated, I was not able to work as a classroom teacher. I would have enjoyed playing Nintendo 3 DS and watching anime at home because classes had already been canceled. Anyway, it's my choice, it's my fault, then I have to suffer.


Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Unlucky Morning but still Happy!


This morning , I woke up at 3:55 AM instead of the usual three-o'clock.

I usually wake up at three in the morning to prepare to go to work, but today