How Loyal Are to Your Work?

I have been working to my current job for almost 2 years now. I have been very loyal and i think have been productive to the company since day one. It is a small company but has a big potential. Lately, after a couple of months of not reaching our target, sales has improved dramatically. It has to do with the influenza scare. Hopefully our sales will be consistent so the company can expand.

A co-worker has been on leave for more than a month now. She had a baby so she was entitled for a maternity leave. Before she went on leave, i suggested that we hire a reliever to fill in her shoes. We were not able to get one because our sales then were down. But now, i think we can afford another staff to help with the workload. Things have been really crazy at work, phones kept on ringing, emails were piling up, honestly we could not keep up.

Lately, i have been thinking of asking a salary raise. Actually i already made a letter to my boss. It is just really hard for me to give it to him. I don't know, i think it is not in my nature to ask. But when i receive my salary, i already feel it is not commensurate to the work i am doing. So, i plan to give the letter this week, hopefully tomorrow. I hope my boss would consider my request. If not, then i guess my loyalty will be tested. Times are hard, and i have to think of my family to feed.

How about you? How long have you stayed in your work? Have you asked for a raise?

A Profession You Could Have Been

I am working as a sales person for more than 3 years now. I am still new compared to a lot of sales people who are in this profession for more than 10 years. I am still an amateur but i know i will excel in the future. I love talking to people and knowing what they need and being able to provide their need. Sometimes customers go overboard and ask for more which makes you even better. Knowing when to say yes and when to say no is a hard trick to master but i guess i am learning slowly but surely.

I did not choose this profession, it was offered to me. I accepted it since it pays better than working in a non-government organization. But don't get me wrong, working in an NGO is 10 times more fulfilling. Too bad it pays bad. I don't know about international NGO's, they pay better for sure but it is really hard to qualify.

Sometimes i wonder if i could have been the person i was dreaming of when i was a kid. I really planned to be an engineer. I was amazed by man made structures like tall buildings, long bridges, large airplanes, etc. I also dreamed of being a pilot. I liked thinking that i am in control of a large commercial airplane or a fast military plane. Even helicopters amaze me until now. I don't know. What could have happened if my plans were fulfilled? Will i still be here in the Philippines? Will i be married and have a kid or kids by now? Sometimes it is really nice to imagine.

I love my family and i love spending time with them. If my plans of being an engineer or a pilot were materialized, i might not probably meet my wife and could have married somebody else. Now, that's a thing to think about. If i was not married to my wife right now, i would not have my son right now. That would be sad. I could not imagine life without them. They are the reasons why i work hard everyday and not thinking of not being with them makes me sad. It is probably right that God really has plans for each and everyone of us. We are just normal human beings that we could not see beyond one day. And that makes it very interesting.....

How about you? Are you in the profession you thought of when you were a kid? If not, any regrets?

Internet Connection Problems

For the past 10 days, i was not able to open up my email, log on to this blogsite and visit my friends. The reason, our internet connection at the office had a major wiring problem. We reported the problem to PLDT but the technician only visited us after 2 days. He recommended we change our telephone line so our office purchased 1 roll to be sure that there will be enough telephone line to connect our office to the telephone's panel box. After 1 day of rewiring, we still did not have internet connection. We again called PLDT customer service to report the problem. Due to their efficiency, their technician visited us after 4 days since our second call. Not that we were not following up by consistently calling their hotline, i guess they really do not have enough qualified technicians. After another 2 days, finally our PLDT dsl line got connected. The technician replaced all kinds of boxes, panels, wires and other stuff to isolate the connection problem. We were so relieved to get connected after more than 7 days but after 1 hour when the PLDT technicians left our office, our DSL got disconnected again.

After another day, we got connected again, but once all the computers tried to access the internet, speed was sacrificed. We began isolating all our wires and tried to figure out which computer is causing the problem. And guess what, it seems my desktop was the culprit. Every time i tried to access the web, all other computers got disconnected. I figured it might be a virus so i tried to run a virus check. After performing a virus check, my pc did not report any infection. My virus scan is free so i guess it is not that reliable. Well, in short, i still do not have a reliable internet connection as of this time. I was able to log on today by using another computer unit. Chances are, i might not get connected again next week because this computer unit will be used by another office person.

I apologize to my friends who i have not visited lately. Hopefully everything will be back to normal this coming week.

Con Ass Rally in Makati

The Philippines once again is being tried to accept a new form of government. Filipinos are again put in a spot to voice their opinions and stand against the recent moves by the Congress to amend the constitution. Who is really behind this agenda? Is it really power grabbing once again? Is the present administration still behind the efforts to stay in office even after the elections in 2010?

I am proud to be a Filipino. I admire people who stand by their beliefs, drop what they are doing and join a rally against abuse. I am lucky that there are people who represent me when i am too busy working to provide for my family. Sometimes i wonder, how does militant groups survive when all they do is organize a rally to oppose government abuse, rising gas, power and water rates and unfair labor practices. I once joined a rally in UP Diliman before and it was really exciting and fulfilling. I knew a number of people who belong to the League of Filipino Students or LFS who later became activists of Bayan Muna or Akbayan or whatever group they belong to now.

What really makes a rally or demonstration successful is the number of people who joined. A short program about what the rally stands for is the climax of the rally. What makes the rally disgusting and a failure is for politicians who grab the opportunity for them to show their faces on tv and recite a long speech to put the limelight on their political ambitions. I am really sorry for this but whatever happens after the elections, these politicians are losers and trash. I really hope they lose badly.

A particular politician even had the nerve to bring a pedicab and lots of garlic to support his tv advertisement and show how he really loves the poor and will fight for them. He even had a scripted line which he also recited in his tv ad. I pity the woman he just proposed to be married. I think even his marriage is a major part to get more votes. Well i guess the lady has an amibition too. Who knows, she may be a first lady one day.

Another politician has an agenda to malign the current government everytime he gets a chance to speak. I was thinking of voting for him but now i am having second thoughts. Does he have any other agenda, cause or issue to champion other than criticizing the president? For the record, i am not defending the president, i just hope he starts to concentrate on other problems.

How about the priest turned politician? I don't know what to say. I just wish he fixes his province first before running for a higher position.

Finally, a mayor who has an ambition to be a president. He even told reporters he will not speak publicly to avoid criticism for him using the event to support his presidential bid? The question is, why did he and his staff organized a motorcade complete with uniform and props which toured around the rally venue? Isn't it also a form of campaigning?

Is there anyone out there who can really lead us Pinoys? Will there be a true leader out there that puts the country first before personal ambition? Will i be lucky enough to know this person in my lifetime and experience the leadership he has? I really pray that someday there will be.

Influenza A(H1N1) Scare

As of yesterday, the Department of Health has confirmed 33 cases of A(H1N1) flu in the country. The latest infection were from 3 students from De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila. This incident has prompted other universities and colleges to postpone the opening of classes from June 8 to June 15, 2009.

As an individual, it may be a cause of alarm since the flu virus, which came from Mexico has started to spread here in the city. As a parent, who have kids at school, you would naturally worry. Does your kid's school have enough information about preventing the virus from spreading if in case an infected person visits their premises? Do the teachers and administrators know what to do? Will reminding kids to wash their hands often and cover their nose and mouth while sneezing enough to assure the parents that their kids are safe? If a person or a student is infected, will suspension of classes for 1 week enough to assure that it is safe to return?

A cure or an immunization is still still being researched as of now, so government authorities' best effort is to isolate infected people, monitor their situation and give the best treatment for flu. Fortunately all reported infected people here in the Philippines are recovering so we are still better off compared to other countries. Mexico and the United States still tops the number of deaths caused by the flu.

What can we do? It is a must to strengthen our immune system. Get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet, most specially fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, drink plenty of water, bring umbrella and raincoats when going outside, avoid smoking and observe the proper hygiene. Let us also do our part in spreading the information to minimize the impact of this disease.

Local and Overseas Employment

Getting a good education will always be one of biggest investments one person must have to be able to secure a good future. Since good education is very expensive nowadays, majority of the youth have very limited access or opportunity to get this kind of education and would settle for just getting a degree to a college or university they can afford. Scholarships are available but a student should be very good in order to get a good one.

When a high school student is asked what does he or she wants to take up in college, the common answers will be either engineering, medicine, nursing, computer science/programming, business or management or hotel and restaurant management. If the student does not excel or does not pass the board exam, chances are he or she will either be unemployed or have to look for work abroad. There are available positions here in the country but the competition is very stiff and the pay is not that good. If you are planning to have your own family, rent a place and have savings, your salary as an ordinary employee in the Philippines will not be enough. Both husband and wife should work hard and have extra income to be able to afford the necessities to live here in the metropolis.

Since jobs here pay low and are difficult to get, graduates usually find work abroad. When you look at jobs available abroad, majority are for skilled workers. These are nurses, caregivers, welders, carpenters, butchers, etc. If you studied these courses, there are a lot of opportunities for you. But what if you are a graduate of management, computer courses, economics and hotel and restaurant management? These courses are seldom in demand abroad. Skilled workers salary abroad ranges from 40,000 - 150,000 pesos a month abroad as compared to local management jobs that ranges from 15,000 - 30,000 pesos only. Even local bank managers and fast food managers salaries are lower than skilled workers abroad earn in a month.

Filipinos have little or no choice at all when in comes to employment locally. Public school teachers that teach 50-70 students in a class would not even reach 30,000 pesos a month even if they teach until the age of 50. Locally employed nurses sometimes earn below 15,000 a month and are taxed heavily if they are single. Net take home pay ranges from 6,000 - 10,000 a month. Is that figure commensurate to the heavy work they do everyday? Definitely not.

Any other choice? Call centers and BPO. Many of our new graduates now are employed in this industry to earn a decent living. Call centers pay better because of night shift pay, overtime and hazard pay. A number of companies also provide meal allowances, clothing allowances and sales incentives. If a call center agent is good, plus has experience, promotion is also fast. Salaries ranges from 18,000 - 35,000 pesos a month which is much better than the average day job. What is the catch? Your health. A number of studies shows that working during night time causes a lot of diseases and sickness to a person. Low blood, stress and fatigue, low resistance to diseases are just a few causes of problems a call center worker will face in the future.

What can we do? Parents should guide their children on what careers will they pursue to be competitive in their chosen field. Children should also be trained to be young entrepreneurs so that they will be the ones providing jobs and not the ones looking for it. How about earning online? Is it worth teaching to kids? Will there be a saturation point? Education is always the key to a bright future, so we have to make sure that our kids will have the proper education for them to handle all the challenges they will face when they are adults themselves.

Flu Vaccine

Last Saturday, my wife and i got a flu vaccine. My wife's workplace was informed of an affordable flu vaccination in UP Diliman so we checked its legitimacy and signed up to avail of the opportunity. We arrived at the venue an hour after the opening and were given numbers 44 and 45. The line was a bit long but it was also generally fast. We got our shots a little past 3 pm and i went back to work.

Vaccination is really big nowadays. When you have a new born child, chances are you will get a "baby-book" which you will use to compile your child's medical history. Every time you visit your pediatrician, the visit will be logged on the baby book plus comments written by the doctor. At the back of the baby book, is a table/list of vaccinations your child will have to undergo within a period of 2 years. If you are a first time parent and you've never heard of the disadvantages of vaccination, most especially to infants, then your objective is to complete all the vaccines required to prevent your child from getting sick. If you are more cautious and research first, then probably you won't be too much concerned on completing all the vaccines.

Vaccination has been with us since Louis Pasteur discovered the germ theory. A disease is introduced to a body externally and injected directly to a person's bloodstream. By definition, a vaccine is a preparation of viral or bacterial particles that will mimic the viruses or bacteria responsible for a disease. It is chemically prepared in a much reduced potency in order to (supposedly) be safe to inject in the body. The theory is that once present in the body, the vaccine will provide artificial immunity and not have the harmful effect of the disease itself.
According to pharmaceutical companies vaccination is:

* The main reason for the decline of infectious conditions
* The only effective method of eliminating dangerous infectious conditions
* Harmless when compared to the disease itself
(http://www.ei-resource.org).

Of course, not all vaccines are 100% effective. If you research more, you will get lots of information about vaccines being the cause of sickness, a new virus strain has developed to counter the vaccine, or vaccines being the cause of infant deaths. How come governments are pushing for vaccination as a major project of the health department? Is it really for disease prevention or are they just being pressured by pharmaceutical companies worldwide?

For me, the reason we got the flu shot is prevention. My wife told me it is better to have a first line of defense instead of being sick, drinking medications or worse being hospitalized. We did not include my son to the vaccine because he is too young to get the shot as advised by the doctors. Frankly, it is also a peace of mind. With so many diseases out there plus the stress and pressure of everyday work, i really can not afford to get sick.

What about you? When did you last had a vaccine? For females, have you considered the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer? I heard the price is really high and you have to get 3 shots for that.