My 6th year in Sykes (and counting)

I woke up today with a feeling that there was something I need to do. I was thinking that since its a Monday, I do have a lot of things in my list, send reports, touch base with my team read and reply to emails and other things...

Then it suddenly hit me, its February 28 and 6 yrs ago i signed my first contract with Sykes. Wow time really flies, was that really 6 years ago? I can still remember the first time i set foot in the premises of this successful company, i was nervous because it was not in my plan to work in Sykes...

I roamed the streets of Makati and Ortigas for job interviews hoping to land into one...out of the 8 (more or less) call centers i applied to i never tried my luck with Sykes because I felt that it was way out of my league, being the pioneer in the call center business in the Philippines (Ads all over Ortigas), I told myself that they would never hire me. A month has passed i was still jobless and i was really about to give up, pack my bags and go back to Iloilo and sulk hehehe. So i told myself, i will give it one more shot, so i spent two weeks in a "call center training center" I polished my accent, talked in English all the time (even when i'm buying stuff in the wet market; my friends thought that i was crazy) and i was even thinking in English. That was a very long two weeks for me. After the training, I was told that i passed and the training center will endorse me to Sitel, but the day before the endorsement, the account i'm supposed to join pulled out...how unlucky can I be? but God always have a buffer, when one dloor closes He opens a window for you and boy what a big window was that...SYKES, the complany i never applied to hired me..how lucky can I be???

Sykes, has helped me a lot not just professionally but also personally. The trainings they provided me developed my confidence. My growth with Sykes has been pretty fast (in my standards hehehe). Promoted twice in 2009 and again in 2010. I have several offers from other company, but the grass is not always greener in the other pasture. I'm happy here, my colleagues respects me, my bosses appreciate my efforts and i love the perks. Again im a person with simple needs, so with this kind of work that pays well. Sykes knows how to make its people happy, where else can you go?

So its my 6th year here and im still looking forward to more fruitful and happy years...Who am I? I AM SYKES!!!

SUJU, Edster and RMD

How did you spend your weekends? If you ask about mine...well all i can say is its one big roller coaster.

Let's start with my Saturday morning, I got up at around 6:30am to air the clothes i washed the other night, afterwards, i took Morton out for a walk. I then cooked breakfast so my doggie and i can eat. I did some last minute house cleaning then i gave Morton a bath and while we were at that he splashed water on me, my morty is one big sissy when it comes to water...but i love him anyway. At 1PM i went to the airport to pickup my eldest nephew, Edster (well that's his facebook name hehehe). All the way from the airport, he cant stop talking about the concert he is going to that night, the SUPER JUNIOR or SUJU concert, i didn't even know this korean boy group exists until the day he told me to buy him a ticket. Here they are:

Around 4pm on Saturday, we went to Araneta Coliseum so he can pick a good spot to watch the concert. To my surprise a lot of people are already lining up to watch the concert again to my surprise these concert goers are teenagers. Where did they get the money to buy the 3,000 pesos plus tickets? I was thinking that this SUJU must be real popular and Filipino fans are just going crazy and i can feel the excitement that my nephew was feeling too. So i left him there, i went home to cook dinner, then went back to pick him up at around 9PM but lo and behold the concert ended at 10:15PM and i can hear screams all the way to Gateway Mall. When Edster finally appeared from the sea of teenagers screaming about how good the show was, how "bitin" (short) the show was etc...I saw my nephew smiling from ear to ear. He was a one happy camper, he said it was worth his trip (he flew in from Iloilo by the way). He cant stop talking about them, how good a performer they were, how comedic they were, how nearly his eardrums exploded because of the rowdy girls seated behind him screamed like crazy in everything the group did...he was just ecstatic...

It was nearly 11:30, when we got back to my apartment, he just cant stop talking hehehe, he cant wait to tell his facebook buddies how the concert went. So away he went, turned on his laptop went online and chatted with his friends while eating his dinner in my bed...he was just pure Mr. Energy, i was a mess, too old to keep up with a teenager's enthusiasm about the latest trend...but all's well that ends well, i bid him goodbye around 3AM, told the cab driver to take Edster to the NAIA T3...

That's my Saturday with Edster and SUJU...

Summer is almost here

Are you feeling the heat? Well folks that's because S-U-M-M-E-R is almost here!!!

Take out those skimpy swimwears and air them out as we are all going to the beach...I love summer, everything is so fresh, everyone is excited to go on vacation. Summer season fruits, yummy sweet mangoes, juicy watermelons and of course those mouth-watering fruit juices...

For all the beach lovers out there...Boracay...Palawan...Potipot...get ready to rumble...i can see it all now...summer breeze...a word of caution though...be careful, when the heat is too much.. take shelter and drink plenty of water...we don't want our summer to be ruined by a deadly heatstroke...just my two cents...

Pinoy Power

February 1986...the rule of a tyrant has finally ended. A new ray of hope has blossomed in the hearts of every Filipino...looking back in those days still gives me goose bumps...

During the People Power Revolution, we are still residing in Negros Occidental, so we were not in the center of the revolution. Watching the events unfold in the television, hearing the news in the radio and looking at the pictures of the millions who joined that bloodless revolution made me realize how lucky I am to be a Filipino. In the time of needs the Filipinos can unite and act as one to drive away a greedy leader. AMAZING...tough breeds,..that we are...

As we celebrate our second "Independence Day," let's all breathe in the air of freedom that was given to us...Let us all cherish this freedom and let's offer a prayer of thanks to those who became intstruments for the freedom that we are enjoying now.

Viva Pilipinas...Long live Pinoy Power!!!

just my two cents...: When the goin' gets tough... the tough gets goin'

just my two cents...: When the goin' gets tough... the tough gets goin'

When the goin' gets tough... the tough gets goin'

do you ever feel that the stars are conspiring against you? that no matter how much you try to do things better but someone or something gets in your way? tough life we have here huh...but its the reality...you ask me what can we do about it? well my guess is just as good as yours...

in my experience, no matter how difficult life is, we have no choice but to face it, go with the flow, weigh your options and start your game plan from there. we can never escape a problem, we may find a temporary solution but its still there, it will never go away unless we face it and solve it once and for all. We may fall, get wounded, get hurt, get kicked straight right into our faces but hey...that's life...what we can do is to get up, learn from our mistakes and start again...wear your battle scars proudly, this will remind you that you are a survivor. never be a quitter coz a quitter never wins.

in this world of ours only the fittest will survive, so keep your faith in your hearts and believe in yourselves...so when the going gets tough...we have to be tough to go on...just my two cents...

knock! Knock!...Who's there? L-O-V-E

LOVE, what do we know about this feeling that turns all of us mushy and cheezy at some point in our lives? What do we know about this feeling that makes us stare in an open space with a silly smile in our lips?

When love comes knocking in our heart's door, some of us are scared, some of us are brave enough to experience it and some of us, sadly, die because of love.

A friend of mine asked for my help on how she can stop herself from falling in love with this very nice guy who is rocking her world (hehehe...peace ma'am). Of all people she asked on how to do that? She chose me? me? my outlook on love is the total opposite of hers, but anyway, she's a very dear friend so I have to give her some thoughts to ponder.

As the saying goes..."its better to have loved and lost that love than never to have loved at all" true...true...there's no guarantee in love, its never a win win situation. But its all part of the package, love is never true if there's no pain. Never fear love because its something that we should not miss out in life... "its better to have lost that love, than never to have loved at all" time will dull the pain but memories will always stay with us and as we go thru life, we can always have those memories to look back to, those memories will bring smile on our faces and then we can say that once in our life we fell in love and felt the magic of being loved back...so folks...live your lives to the fullest... let's all fall in love and be loved back...just my two cents...^_^

Earthquake in NZ

Today, I was shocked to hear about the earthquake in New Zealand, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that surprised the people in Christchurch.

Sometimes it make people ask "Where is God in all of these?" Well my friends, God is there with us, He is always there with us. We might not know it but He is there reminding us of His presence. Its a wake up call for us to renew our faith. He wants us to know that amidst all these destructions, pains and sorrows, He is there with us, waiting for us to notice Him again.

Let us pray for those who are suffering right now. May they be filled with hope that all of these shall pass...

My very first post...

This is all new to me... I have been planning to start on this a long, long, long time ago. Now, finally I am here, composing my very first post. Ladies and gents, you can call me RM...I'm the type of person who prefers to keep things simple. I love being alone as it helps me relax and think things through. I love to read and watch movies too...I'm a sucker for romance movies...there its out in the open.. people who knows me will tease me til I'm red in the face with embarrassment.

I like to put my thoughts into writing, my opinions about things that happen to regular people like you and me. I hope you will enjoy my posts and I have a lot to learn when it comes to blogging, so your opinions and suggestions are very much appreciated.

Thank you...

RMD