I need more "grown-up" things...

I'll be sent again for another mission. (I'm beginning to think my boss doesn't want me around the office that's why he keeps sending me out!)

This time it will be a very quick "partner inspection". Hold your thoughts people... it's not as dirty as it sounds.

Our company will be integrating one of our products with another company's product (thus, they are the partner). Now my job is to assess the "supportability" of their product. Since my team handles the support & maintenance of live platforms, this new "merged" solution will be our future problem anyway, so it's best that our team analyze and mitigate all the possible risks of this "lovechild" solution.

From what I've been briefed with, I'll be meeting with a lot of senior people. And by senior, I mean the politically correct term for OLD. Like 10 years or more older than me type of OLD. (yes, I'm an ageist!)

I've got nothing against old people in general... I just find them boring, and I'm sure they'll just find me obnoxious(the curse of youth). We're from different generations... anything we say to each other just sounds weird to our ears...

Anyway... in preparation for the meetings, I've decided to gather all the things I need to bring. Then after looking at my stuff, I've decided to leave them and proceed to the nearest bookstore to buy new ones instead.

Why? Ladies & gentlemen, my notebook:



Hey! Hey! Never judge a notebook by it's cover. "Pink-Cheeks-Milk-Cow" and I have been through a lot together! It contains a lot of work-stuff! (and funny drawings too!)

So I want to do my company right by representing them well... The least I can do is buy a decent and mature-looking (read: boring) notebook...

The age-appropriate(ZZzzzZZzzzz) notebook:


And yes, I will NOT be wearing my red rubber shoes to the meetings... (I'll try my best to resist... :P)

Wish me luck! :)

Reminds me of someone...

So I was in a very important meeting this morning. You'd expect a decent person to focus and give 100% concentration... but guess what I did? Right in the middle of the discussion, for a good 3 seconds, I stopped and looked outside the window. My colleagues asked me if there was anything wrong. I was too embarrassed to say the truth, so I just told them it was nothing, and picked-up where we left off.

The truth? Right in the middle of something I was saying, I saw a squirrel running in the roof of the building across the street... hihihi...

Does that remind you of someone? No?

Let me refresh your memory...




Yet another proof of my immaturity... :P

the French and their fart...

There are a lot of French people in our company. One main thing I've noticed about them is that they like using fart sounds as expressions.

For example, instead of using a "sad trombone" sounds for "burot moments", they use fart sounds. Or when they are presenting something in PowerPoint, each time a new item pops in the screen, they also make the same fart sounds.

Last week, we started our training sessions with HP and our main trainer is a French guy as well. He seems to enjoy making fart sounds too, so I'm guessing it's not just the French in our company.

And another thing, during the training with HP, we needed to use their test servers which are based in France. And guess what are the names of their test servers??? fart07 and fart08... What the?!

What's with the French and their fascination with farts??

must...keep...eyes...open...must...

Today's weather is most conducive for all-day sleeping (and mold growth!), which makes me wonder why I'm in the office in the first place...

i hate threads....

hate... hate... hate...

bitches, ties, and creepy replies

As I was sitting idly in my humble little cubicle, my seatmate looks at me weirdly and asks:

Seatmate: "Why are you wearing a tie?" {said as though it's not a question, it's more like saying "who the f*ck ate my lunch?!"}

As much as I'd like to give him a good spanking (not in a "fun" way) and give him a lesson on the equality of men and women, the implications and consequences of machismo and chauvinism in modern society, and more importantly Avril Lavigne's claim to fame, I calmed down my inner bitch and pulled out all the humor I can muster out of me and replied:

Me: "Because I caaaan..."
{for full effect, it must be said in the most retarded way possible, which of course I have successfully mastered...}

Seatmate: Oh... ok... {with a ginormous question mark hanging on his head}

{insert fantastically awkward silence, then background noise of keyboard strokes, and then vultures flying overhead...}

After a few minutes, I just realized that my reply was not as funny as it sounded in my head (I need to stop listening to those little voices)...

Looking back, it was actually kinda creepy...

Lesson learned: unleash your inner bitch... it's better to be bitchy than creepy... :)
(Or better yet...eat your seatmate's lunch without him knowing :) )

even my mp3 player is mocking me...

So I'm still here in the SG office, handling an urgent issue in our customer platform in Australia that must be solved by today. It's 1AM, and I'm here in the freakishly cold server room... how sad is that?
And as if Karma has finally found me after all my years of mocking, my mp3 player plays the song "No Sleep Tonight" by The Faders... (It's on my playlist here --->)

... you won't get no sleep tonight...

unfortunately not in a good way...

ironic, eh?

... that we don't work on Labour Day...

not that I'm complaining... :)

Malaysia, Truly Manila... ay este Asia pla...

As promised, my Malaysia trip # 1 adventure...

I was sent to KL Malaysia on a mission to get whatever "knowledge" I can get from the SI of our Malaysia branch. This is part of the company's plans to make the SG office the support hub of the Asian region. I also needed to officially meet the telco client, so they'd know the face of the person they're gonna kick in the balls if something goes wrong with their system.


Off-Topic: When your boss tells you nobody else in SG knows about the project you're
about to take over and they want you to absorb everything you can out of the turnover activities... that's when you know you're under freakin' pressure...

[flashback to the time my boss was talking to me about the project] I was just playing it cool, nodding my head, mildly smiling at times, with occasional "ah"'s... but there was this loud and manic voice inside my head telling me "OMG! OMG! You're screwed! Run towards the door! Run while you can! Saaaaaaave yourself...." Then images of the teletubbies flashed in my head... then bam! I fainted... (ok, kidding about the "I fainted" part...:), but the teletubbies part... true and freakin' creepy man!!!... why do I have such an evil mind???)


Anyway... going back to the KL trip...

What makes this BT so different from the ones I've had in my past company is that I am in this ALONE... :(

Meaning no one to copy travel itineraries / immigration papers from, no one to ask what part of the airport I am supposed to go to, no group food explorations (e.i., pagpapaka-PG pag buffet)... it was just me, and my cunning and survival skills (which is of course non-existent).

The hotel was a 10-minute walk from the KL branch, which kinda reminded me of our Cebu-BT days... ah... memories... tears are starting to well-up (well, not really... hehehe)... but oh, those were really good times! I miss the walks (or jeepney/taxi rides) I got to have with my BT-mates... sniff...sniff... Waaaaaaaa.... I miss you all!!!! waaaaaaa.....

[breathe...breathe... must regain composure...]

Now, before I go any further, I have to rant about my incoming flight to Malaysia... i took a the-space-is-so-cramped-the-least-you-can-do-is-stop-this-annoying-inflight-
music-but-this-is-probably-not-as-annoying-as-the-dude-sitting-beside-me-who-decided-that-he's-the-only-one-who-needs-the-armrest-we're-supposed-to-be-sharing,-now-where-the-hell-is-the-food-?-what?-no-food-?!!-airlines flight. What a big mistake! Yes, I'm referring to you Malaysian Airlines...

I am soooo taking SQ next time...

Just when I thought PAL flights aren't at par with other international airlines, Malaysian Airlines proved me dead-wrong...

oh PAL, i miss our fun "fiesta" flights together... [sigh...]

After a painful 50-minute flight, we landed oh-so-roughly at KLIA. Since the airport is a freakin' 60KM away from the KL City Center, passengers have to take an Express train to KLIA Sentral. Atleast this train ride was smooth. The train ride was 29 minutes long, but the seats were comfy (and more importantly, does not come with an annoying seatmate) so I didn't mind that part at all.

So what about Malaysia?

I almost shouted at the taxi driver: "Manong, Manila ba to???". KL City Center looks somewhat like Makati, but the outskirts have a tinge of Manila written all over it.

Even most of the people look like someone you'd meet in the streets of Manila. It feels like being trapped in the twilight version of the Philippines... everything and everyone seems to look familiar, but you can't understand a damn thing they're saying...

But on the bright side, I look so Malay, I don't feel like a freak when i'm walking along their streets...At home na at home ako...

Sobrang at home, kinakausap nila ako in Malay! Damn, if I had a Ringgit for every time someone talked to me in Malay, I'd have... well, a lot of Ringgits... hehehe...

There was even a point that I got tired of saying "Sorry, but I'm not from around here", that when a perfume saleslady was talking to me, I just kept on nodding my head and smiled away, then after a good 5 or more minutes of her speech, she looked like she was asking me something, to which I had no choice but say, "no thanks, bye"...

I know, that wasn't a very nice thing to do (I did smile, though... hehehe). But she seemed so passionate about her lengthy speech that I didn't have the heart to interrupt her (ok, maybe I did get a good kick out of it... [insert evil laugh]...but hey, gimme a break, I was alone for 3 days!?!... the world owes me!...ok, maybe not...[insert evil laugh])

Going back...

Any trip to KL won't be complete without a good look at Petronas... well, they weren't kidding when they said it is tall! I was forced to use the "stitch-assist" function of my camera just to make the damn thing fit in one picture (side note: I hate using that function) I'll try to post the pics next time... (hopefully)

I also went to Bukit Bintang, which according to my trainer is the "Greenhills" of KL. (yes, my trainer is pinoy... astig noh? hehehe...)
The prices of the items are pretty cheap, compared to that in SG, but the one's in the Philippines are definitely much much cheaper... damn I miss pinas!!!

My trip was only 3days long... so not much time to explore the place, hopefully next trip I'd have more free time.

But generally, I think it was a good trip. One hell of a learning experience... being really alone in a foreign land can knock some sense out of you sometimes. makes you think of a lot of things you left behind, and at the same time pumps you with anticipation of what's gonna happen next... oh shit, im growing-up! [not!] :)

hopefully my trip next time will be better... [crosses fingers and books an SQ flight]

Does this mean I'm screwed?

while studying the config files of the system i'm trying to learn, i came across this very interesting config file for the database :
(some words are omitted... it's an awfully long comment for one config flag... )

#STRONGLY DISRECOMMENDED
#Setting this flag to true may lead to subtle
#and bizarre bugs.......
#......... This is a terrible setting......
#...supports transactions "partially" (this is oxymoronic,
#as the whole point of transactions is to perform operations
#reliably and completely, but nonetheless such
#database are out there) .....
#........ ..... //some really long explanation why it's bad
#...............................................
#..... otherwise, setting this to true is just a BAD idea
#
#flag=false
flag=true

need I say more? :)

cool...but kinda creepy

... not your typical blog entry title about your first week of work, but let me explain...

week 1 of work was fine.

morning of day 1 included a security briefing. to summarize: i felt like i was working for the pentagon... id contact cards, security cameras, secret pin codes, "trap" doors (serously, sooo cool), annoyingly noisy alarms (with matching sirens), and scary security dudes that have that "we take R&D seriously" look on their faces, or more accurately, the "don't mess with my door!" look. it's cool but kinda creepy...

i met my groupmates in the afternoon. As of present, I'm the only girl (and filipino) in the group... again, cool but kinda creepy... :)

i was given an overview of what we do and number of documents and e-books i have to digest. IMSI, MSISDN, MNC, etc... terms I usually see from my old company but can't explain what, but now it all makes sense! it feels good to be working on something i can explain to my parents... cool, but kinda creepy...

there are 4 other people with me on my first day of work and 2 of them are Filipinos. and want to know what's really creepy?... both of them are from my old company, but from our Cebu branch... (no wonder they look familiar)... cool, but kinda creepy...

the rest of the week was basically spent on my "basic" education. last friday, our PL told me that they're thinking of giving me the KL client. they are still fixing the schedule of the turnover since the product is from a different team.

Off-Topic: now im in the receiving end of a turnover activity... yes, what goes around, comes around... karma! hehehe...

so this is really it... im working! so far im not yet bored. I guess it's the idea of being part of something big and important is giving me motivation. (or maybe im just way too happy im no longer stuck at home :) )

cool, but kinda creepy... :)

snippets of info : salary package

Salary package... now this is a touchy subject. But it's seemingly the most asked question to me lately.

I won't be disclosing my salary here, since i find that unethical (and I'm also bound by a confidentiality contract).

I would just like to share the several salary packages I encountered while I was job-hunting here in SG. I hope this might help future jobhunters weigh their options.

Basically there are two types of employment:

1. Direct hire
Those hired directly by the company they are working for.

2. Contractual (a.k.a. via Agency)
Those hired by an employment agency and will be deployed to a client company.

Direct hires usually have a lower salary compared to contractual employees. This might sound puzzling for others, but there is actually a good reason behind it. Direct hires have company benefits while contractual employees on the other hand do not have any. Usual benefits include:
- 13th month pay
- health and life insurance
- annual bonus
- paid leaves

Contractual employees are hired by employment agencies and are then sent to client companies. They usually stay in that company for 1 or 2 years then move-on to other companies, unless their contracts are renewed by their current client company. The higher pay given to them is to compensate for their lack of company benefits.

Each type has it's pros's and con's, depending on each person's preferences. If you're the type who gets sick often in a year, #1 is the way to go. Medical expenses here are awfully high! If you're the type who likes to save a lot of money, and doesn't get sick regularly, go with option #2. If you value job security, go with option #1. If you like trying out new companies every year, go with #2.

If you're thinking of being a Permanent Resident here in SG, option #1 is better for you. Permanent Residents MUST contribute 33% of their monthly income to their CPF (forced savings). If you're a direct hire, 20 of the 33% will be shouldered by your company. If you're a contractual employee, you have to shoulder all of the 33% (ouch!)

I'm not so sure if there are "hybrid" versions out there, but these are the ones I have encountered.

I guess my advice would be to not just look at the money you'll be getting every month. Try to also assess what other benefits the company could give you that will best fit your lifestyle.

uuwi na lang, nadale pa! hehehe....

promise, maaga na ako papasok...
by maaga, i mean 9am ah (layo ng bahay ko!)...
bakit kamo??

abay, handang-handa na akong umuwi
(well, di naman tipong suot na yung bag,
more like di ko na feel mag-work)
nag hihintay na lang ako na mag-7pm...
(nyeta... bakit kse ako 10am pumasok!...)
mamayang konti... nilapitan ako ng aming
japanese manager para itanong kung ako daw
ba ang support ngayon... waaaa.... may problem
daw sa NCOS... (kelan ba nawalan...???)
haaaaay... so medyo wala akong choice kung di
mag-stay at maghintay...
maghintay sa kanilang mga email
at mga uploaded logs sa ftp server...
haaaay buhay...

it's a comforting thought though, na konting
araw na lang, di ko na gagawin to... :)

----

para akong lalagnatin... waaaaaaah....
allergic yata tlaga ako sa work... :)