2014

2014 what happened?

It started out so great and then last quarter was a disaster. I don't know how it started awesome and ended with dismay.

I get to travel for most part of the year, Philippines (Jan-Feb), US (October/December) and domestic Canada (Toronto - July; Calgary - September).  A lot of firsts also happened this year but not all those first are good memories. There are lessons taught to me and I have to learn it the hard way.

* when you love, save something for yourself because when they leave you'll be left with nothing

* patterns never lie. everything else changes except this one. watch out and look for the signs. Do not ignore it. do not make excuses for him to comfort yourself. 

* learn to appreciate everything (people, things, moments, efforts). it goes a long way. show someone that they are special no matter how busy you are. say hi, send a text or email to your mom, dad, family and friends. ask them how their day went. appreciate the people that cares for you, thank them for the effort and time they put into it. money can be replaced but the time someone has set aside for you is priceless. 

*stand by your word. back in the days, your word is your honor. as for me, when i say, i'll do something, i'll do my best to fulfill it. 

*humility - its not about who is wrong or who is right but sometimes acknowledging that we are not perfect is good enough and assure them that you'll make it up to them.

Still, 2014 is memorable and I like to thank these people who inspired me and made me hope that the best years of my life are still ahead. Here are my 2014 People of the Year

Capt and Biker- They are 2 amazing individuals. I haven't talked to them much but I saw that they were able to fulfill their lifelong dream. They made me hope that someday I too will be able to do my own adventure of a lifetime. Capt has achieved his dream to be become a pilot, it sure did took a while but he got there. He did it! Nothing is impossible while Biker here is currently on an adventure with the love of his life. Cycling from North America to South America, they've been in the road for several months now. I wish I could do that too. It's still on my bucket list and I know I'll do it someday. 

Cla - Thank for being my voice of reason. Thanks for reminding me to love myself and put myself first before others. You may not know all the story but you're always there to listen to me.

ACT - for always, always being there. You never get tired of cheering for me even if i have not been a good friend to you.

AnnKat - You've always come through whenever I need you. Wherever you are, whenever I send you a message you never bail out on me. Thank you for always being there.

Bogart - never a dull moment with you. You've always been a great travel companion. I wish we could live in the same province together. It would be really awesome. Here's to more lakwatsa days, booze and mischief moments.

Midnight Boys (Rye, Jay, Fran & Dave) - working at nights with you guys are always the best! being a night auditor for the first time, you were all supportive and helpful guiding me at work. and when i'm alone, you've always check on me if I am alright. Through heavy snow, dealing with suspicious persons, calming down drunk guest, you always got my back. Graveyard shifts are the best! lol Thank you all for taking good care of me.

Rachel, Nads and Shei - Though we are miles and miles apart, all of you never forget to say Hi or check how am I doing. You don't know how it means a lot to me. Thank you girls for always remembering me.

The constant persons on my list are my family here and back at home. Words are not enough but from the bottom of my heart, Thank you, Thank you for everything, I would not be here without you all. Looking forward to 2015. 

Cheers! 

there's no goodbye...

At first, 31 Dec 2011 may seem the end of everything... everything we've worked for, we lived for, we believed in... but I know HE has better plans for us... for now, we just have to cope and accept the situation. Some may have left like Sheila and Law, others may leave soon too... but all I could say is there's no goodbye only see you later. it was a pleasure working with you all. i would never trade our 6 years spent together for anything else. someday soon, i could feel that we would be together again. thank you for the wonderful memories we spent together. till next time. 

5 stages of grief

Denial 

When I left LTP, they said I'm welcome to go back anytime. In fact after a few months, they  told me to go back and work for them.

Anger

5-6 of our life, we eat, we breathe, we sleep AK and all of a sudden we were given 2 months to prove our worth or else its time to let us go. This has been our life then suddenly they're handing out death sentences.  Have we not proven ourselves for the past 5-6 years? Have we not been loyal, honest and hardworking?

Bargaining

Maybe I've became complacent over the years but I still receive good feedbacks from the guest. Hearing words like, you're very efficient and good! ; you're a star! you're a sweetie, thank you for your help. Though its only verbal I know I've done my job well

Depression

Rejection, one after the other. How much more can I handle?! rejected by the person I love for the longest time, and now  rejection from the job I've always love. 

Acceptance

I think nobody gets immune to rejection. It crushes all your hope at same time it challenges you to step up your game. It's either I mope around, or pull myself together and fight. 

"The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times."  - Paulo Coehlo (The Alchemist)

not so 'holy' week

Holy Week ngayon kaya punuan ang mga flights namin.  Ang unang araw ng pasok ko ngayong linggong ito ay kahapon, Maundy Thursday. Ito ang simula ng mahabang bakasyon para sa karamihan kaya medyo traffic ang mga dadaanan. 4 na pasahero ang na-late ng araw na to, sa kasamaang palad di na talaga sila nakasakay. At lahat sila ay inaway ako. Okay lang, medyo kaya pa. Migraine attack lang naman nun hapon ang napala ko sa kanila. Pero walang tatalo ngayong araw na ito. Quota na lahat ng klase ng mura! Mayroon 1 pasahero na sa bawat sasabihin nyang salita may kasamang 'bullsh*t' lalo na kapag nagpapaliwanag ako sa kanya. Pero ang winner na winner sa lahat ay ang Pranses na pasahero ko. Kung baga sa beauty pageant siya ng kokoronahan; grand slam, hinakot lahat ang award!

fra pax: if i were a terrorist, i will shoot you first (points to my colleague), and then you (points at me). this country is so f*cked up! f*ucked up! f*ck it! sh*t!

Gaya nga ng nasabi ko sa inyo dun sa isa kong post, read here; i eat death threats for breakfast! Award ang kanyang mga banta. Pagdating sa Immigration nang-away pa ulit cia. Ayun, balita ko hindi na cia pwedeng makabalik pa dito sa bansa natin ever!

Ang Good Friday ko naging BAD Friday. Sana bukas, mas okay na at wala ng pasaway.

trabaho lang po walang personalan

Noong mga nakaraang buwan usap usapan ang naganap na pagtawag ng menopausal b%@t*^ ng isang Party-list Representative sa isang customer service agent ng isang airline.

Sa totoo lang, kundi man linggo-linggo na nangyayari ito sa trabaho namen ay isang beses sa isang buwan may nagaganap na ganito. Sabi nga ni Senator Miriam Santiago, "I eat death threats for breakfast"! Well, well, well, kame rin!!! Sabay kme mgbreakfast ni Madam Senator eh! wahaha! 

Siguro sadyang meron mga taong di makaintindi o ayaw umintindi. Ginagawa lang namen trabaho namen at sumusunod lang din sa patakaran kumpanya. Gusto rin namen tumulong at mapasaya lahat pero di nman lahat ng gusto nila ay pwedeng masunod. 

Walong taon na rin ko sa larangang ito, marami na ko naranasan. Hindi ko nilalahat pero may mangilan-ngilan na nawala na ata ang kabutihang asal. 

* Mga tao na napalitan lang ang kanilang citizenship kala mo kung sino na kung makapang hamak ng kapwa at parang kinamumuhian ang kanyang lahi. Minsan ang sarap sumagot, kung pwede ko lang silang sagutin na, Teh, di mo maitatwa ang pagiging pinoy mo! Kulay, height at ilong pa lang give away na. 

* Meron din na porke't akala nila mas mataas pinag aralan nila samen pwede na nila kameng maliitin. FYI, nakatapos po kame lahat sa kolehiyo, university grad po kame. 

* Meron din na astang mayayaman na kung makapagdemand ay kala mo nabili ka na nya at pwede ka na nyang gawing alila. Ang sarap sumagot sa kanila ticket lang po nabili nyo hinde po ang pagkatao namen.

 Di ko alam kung matatawa na lng ba kame o maiinis o maloloka sa nararasanan nmen sa counter. Ito yung ilan sa mga narinig ko na nasabi ng mga pasahero samen ng mga ksamahan ko.

(lahat po ng ito ay totoo, at walang exaggeration...)

• 'maitim ang budhi mo! di ka pupunta ng langit! buhay ka pa sinusunog kaluluwa mo!'  ang sabi ng isang lalaki nung sinisingil cia ng excess baggage ng kasama ko. 
• 'you're english is pathetic!' ang sabi ng isang lola (pinoy na 1st world country na ang hawak na passport)  dahil di american accent ang pagsalita ng english ng kasama ko.
• 'magsuntukan na lang tayo sa labas' ang hamon sa kasama ko nang hinanapan nya ng mga proper travel document ang pasahero.
• sinungaling ka! p*+@ng!*# mo! (repeat to fade) ang sinabi saken ng pasahero dahil di ko cia marebook kasi fully booked ang flights. ( dito ko napaiyak dhil sa sama ng loob!) 

Aaminin ko na mga tatlong beses na ko napaiyak dahil sa mga natanggap ko na masasamang salita sa mga pasahero.  Tao lang din naman kame, nasasaktan. Halos lahat na ata klase ng mura natanggap na namen, may F word na ibat-ibang lenguahe pa at dialect, di ba bongga?! May instant lesson sa foreign language.

Sa linya ng aming hanapbuhay kailangan mabilis kame magbago ng mood. Pagkatapos mong makipagtalo sa isang pasahero dapat sa susunod naka ngiti ka na ulet na parang walang nangyaring masama mga ilang minuto pa lang nakakaraan. Kailangan matatag at mapacencia ka, coz everyday is a test; so scream (your lungs out after each flight), leave (all those negative comments behind) and survive (another day)!

Uulitin ko, hindi ko nilalahat may mga kaunti na lang na nalihis ang pag-uugali.

Pagpasensyahan nyo na kame kung medyo hinde perky at friendly dating namen sa inyo. Sa loob ng isang araw ilang daang tao makakasaluha namen, ilang daang ugali, ilang daang personalidad, ilang daang pangangailangan na kailagan ng tugon kaya sana minsan konting pang unawa din hinihingi namen. 

Sa aking pananaw may magandang rin na kinahantungan ang nangyari na pagsasampa ng kaso nung agent dun sa kongresista; kase nabigyan rin ng 'mukha' ang mga kagaya naming passenger service agents na  hahamak. Pero di rin naman ito excuse para  sa mga kapwa ko passenger service agents na magtaray o magsungit sa mga pasahero.

Ika nga nila, that's my 2 cents worth on this matter.

Kaya sa susunod na paglipad nyo, maisip nyo rin sana yung mga nasa likod ng counter. 

Have a nice flight!

lines

As a guest service staff, I'm assigned at the check-in counter, and everyday I have to face these so called lines.

Day by day, I see guests lining in front of me (not to take my picture or autograph, silly!). Some looked happy and excited, others looked tired and weary, while some are impatiently staring back at me as if saying, 'hurry up!'.

As I take my seat at the counter I prepare for my new lessons. You see, as a guest service agent, I compare myself to a student, ready to learn what the check-in counter has to offer.

One by one as I process each guests, chatting, interacting and dealing with them taught me about different life lessons on:

empathy:  on how to identify with the guests, on what they go through.

on being strong: strong meaning being able to face guests who woke up at the "wrong side of the bed". sometimes its a bit intimidating especially if the guest starts screaming at me. at times, I want to give up, cry and pray that the floor would swallow me up, but I know whatever happens, the world would not stop for me and I have to face the guest. this is where empathy and patience comes in, and my being 'strong' develops. its like life is teaching me that whatever comes my way good or bad, I have to take it and make something good out of it.

sacrifice: some guests leave their families behind to work overseas to give their love ones back home a good future.

passion: there are some guests that are really passionate about their dreams and goals in life that through talking to them they have passed on to me their zeal and enthusiasm to do better and strive harder.

and the most important lesson of all is...

love: families travelling together to visit grandpa, grandma, aunts and uncles, nieces and cousin, closing the gaps and rekindling family ties which reminds me that LOVE CONQUERS ALL even DISTANCE!

Those are some the lessons the LINES at the check-in counter taught me. Hoping for more Life Lessons to learn from this unconventional classroom called CHECK-IN COUNTER.

babae po ako...

...yan ang gusto kong sabihin sa mga ka-opisina ko.  di naman ako mukhang lalaki pero ang di ko maintindihan ay kung bakit pag wala ang mga boys, ako ang AUTOMATIC na gumagawa ng mga trabaho nila!

• dahil ba boyish ako kung kukumpara mo sa kanilang 3 girls?! di naman ako tibo (although i have nothing against them).
• dahil ba di ako mahilig mag make-up?! kaya akala nila okay lang saken pumunta palagi ng rampa.
• dahil ba di ako vain?! kaya akala nila okay lang saken mabilad sa araw.

minsan di ko lang kase matanggap na ako na lang palagi ang humahalili sa mga duty ng mga boys pag wala sila. alam ko naman na kasama rin yun sa duties and responsibilities namen, ang akin lang, pantay-pantay naman kame lahat eh bakit sa pag 'close counter' hindi. ano ba criteria bat ako palagi napipili?! nasabi ko naman na sa kanila itong mga concern ko kaya lang pabiro kaya siguro hinde nila sineryoso.

tsk.tsk. huway me?! huway?!

how NOT to attend a training

I have a training tomorrow. As per initial schedule, there were 2 of us attending the training. But when the final list was sent, I learned that I would be attending the training alone.

I dread attending the training alone specially when I get to stay at the condo. I have several unpleasant experiences there, like this loser moment which made me mad! and on a lighter note, i also have another loser moment, this time, with Joshua.

Been to Kuala Lumpur many times but in the past years we stay at the airport hotel. Even though it is far from the city, it's accessible. And I can go to the city anytime all by myself. Meanwhile, the condo that we were at, is near the city but not that accessible. It's a residential area, mostly people there have cars so the only transpo that we can avail of is a taxi.

Over the past days, I have thought of schemes on how NOT to attend my training.

scheme#1 pretend that I lost my passport.
scheme#2 tell them that my passport is still with DFA for renewal
scheme#3 deliberately miss my flight! I'll show up late!
scheme#4 feign a contagious diseases such as chicken pox and sore eyes. i will definitely be offloaded from flight.
scheme#5 staged a mini-mishap, as bogart suggests, a mishap with semi-crippling effect, like sprained ankle which would require me on cast.

anyway, wish me luck. hopefully next month no more training. but I doubt it! 

good friday

today, we celebrate Good Friday. Philippines is a Christian country, Holy Week is a much awaited event. for some it's the time to reflect, for others its the time to unwind and for me, its time to work hard.

since most are in vacation mode, and almost all our flights are full, we need to double our efforts. peak season is here. a very tiring week for us.

for the longest time...eversince i started working in the airline industry...im almost always on duty. i can't remember when was the last time i had a vacation during Lenten Season. hopefully, next year, i can have a vacay! yahoo!

this is the last time i had a vacation during holy week...just kidding! ehehe!

i miss....

after talking to annkat (a few minutes ago) , we've realized that dame pala namen namimiss sa pagwork sa NAIA....reminiscin'

*long drive to tagaytay after flight

*bulalo

*chismisan before/during/after flight *piccolo's hungrian hotdog with egg and rice, our typical brunch

*text twist sa office computer (with matching pananaranta ni JR, infairness wala pang nakabeat score naten! yey!)

*hangaroo sa office computer pa rin (are you stupid or something!?!)

*buco salad na ice candy

*turon
*ate gina and mga tinda nyang sandals at kung anu-ano pa
*mang jumbo while saying "show your boarding pass please!"
*john! with his sarcastic hirits to *mahal*
*pagbili chitchirya sa may handicraft store

*kunwari nag CIQ pero tumitingin perfumes sa duty free

*pag nenok candies sa lounge

*saying "dont step" kahit na nasa office na

*ciempwe, di mawawala mga pasaway na pax na excess bge

*mag profile ng pax na pag nadetect mo fraud docs may instant 1k ka sa macwo. yahoo!

*boy/girl watching/people watching sa ledge

*pagpapa time in kay early bird will pag malapit nang malate

*babawi naman si will sa pagpapa out ng time card kase maaga cia uuwi

*kunwari nakikinig sa briefing pero hinde naman talaga

***ciempre, pinaka nakakamiss ung mga taong kasama ko gumagawa ng mga kalokohang yan! i wish makumpleto na tayo para makapagkita kitz na ulet.