Things I Missed (?)

After venting out on my previous post, it's about time to get back on the usual mood in this place. Allow me, dear readers, to get back to writing with the usual optimistic point of view that seeks to see the brighter side of things. =P

Alright, I had business to attend to in Makati two weeks ago, so I took one of those rare chances to roam around the business district, in which I used to be based two years ago. I didn't really miss the place, as I've been dropping by every now and then, but the rush of nostalgia just got the most of me.

I guess I'd better give the details before going on to the main topic. As usual, I started out quite late - the meeting I was attending was supposed to be at 10AM but I was able to ride a bus at around 7AM. Of course, travel time from my place to Makati was over 3 hours long if the bus I ride is not fast (or if the traffic's quite heavy).

Good thing that the trip was quite uneventful until I reached North Avenue in Quezon City where I planned to take the MRT (as I was afraid of the heavy traffic in Cubao and Ortigas if I had taken another bus instead). However, there was a major delay in the MRT coz of the sheer amount of passengers who are apparently thinking the same way as me. XD

So, to cut the long story short, I was late for the meeting, which didn't last as long as I've expected. So, I grabbed the opportunity to stroll around! LOLz =P

While shopping around for some things I'd be needing for the upcoming company beach outing, I realized that there are so many things I used to detest back when I was working in that area. But along with that is the realization that I kinda missed those. And what are those, you may ask?

1. Long Queues at Payment Counters
2. Crowd
3. Traffic
4. Riding Jeepneys to work!

Honest! =P

Yeah, those four are the top things I bid adieu to when I was transfered to Team ACeS more than a year ago. I never thought about it, but I guess these are among the things that are truly an integral part of everyday living back then which I was just fed up with to the point that I had forgotten I used to hate them back then. (Whew! That's a pretty long sentence right there!) 0_0;

I seem to have forgotten that back in those days where I'd be always on the rush to get to work, I'd hurriedly take the first jeepney to come my way. And then, I'd pray to God that I won't get caught in traffic, nor get stuck in the underground walkways. There's always the scramble to get to log on to the time keeping system (there are always a long queue!) - all of those even before the workday begins!

Haha! Times and people do change. Those things I detest are something that make me smile when I feel like reminiscing these days.

Oh yeah, my trip concluded with me lugging around all the stuff I bought. Shopping was really not part of the plan, but I was lucky enough to be there on a mall sale. =P

Uhmm... My First Rant =P

These days, my inherent love for traveling is quite diminishing. It took me some time to know what cause is directly behind it, but I'm sure that such thing happens when one gets fed up with the not-so-good sides of public transportation. ~_~

It had not been too long ago when I wrote that I love traveling coz it allows me to ruminate in my own corner while watching the sceneries passing by. Although that factor is still significant for me, I guess it no longer counts that I ruminate while aboard public buses.

Lately, it is being quite a hassle to take the buses I usually ride to go to work. There had been one which broke halfway (I was bound for home then), and I had to transfer to another bus just to get home. Don't get me wrong, I'm not being fussy about a small thing such as bus transfers, it just happened that we were stuck in the middle of the darkest stretch of the road with the chance to be stranded for the night. Of course, I was frustrated not just because I was too tired carrying my things (which were quite heavy) but because I was trying to get home early (for several reasons).

I usually ride buses of the same bus company as that one I was talking about, and they're mostly full and hot (coz it's summer already). Also, they are quite slow moving and they usually stop at every major intersection to get passengers, such that a 3-hour trip will take 4. And yeah, the buses have no airconditioners, so you may add that bit, too (although I don't mind it much).

Why not take other buses, you may ask? Other buses that ply the same route have their own idiosyncrasies, but I'll be only unnecessarily lengthening this post further if I post all those here. The point is, I seem to be wearing out from such travels.

Perhaps this is a prodding to make me get a car? ~_~ Sadly, I can only wish for one. Buying my own car will surely still be a long way down the road.

LATA: Time Management (or, Regarding Rules#1 and 2)

Work in teh ACeS is largely operations and maintenance (mostly monitoring, ie. slacking, and hoping that nothing goes wrong) =P And like in most crucial facilities, manning the gateway is a 24/7 duty that falls upon the 9-member strong ACeS team.

Yep, there are only 9 members of the team at the moment, and it is our duty to make sure that the equipment in the facility, and the facility itself, are working at optimal levels. Of course, to be able to keep things running, we have to make sure that all available resources (ie., manpower) are utilized properly.

Actually, if there is one thing that is causing a bit of trouble among the team, it would have to be who would be on duty during holidays and at night. I had personally thought of this as a great problem that must be overcome, and as such I have been making the shifting schedules in such a way that everyone will be happy. Although I can't say that there are no problems arising out of the duty, there are at least significant reductions in qualms and bickerings. LOLz.

The problem is mostly about who would do the graveyard shift. Senior engineers no longer want to do the graveyard shift, as they say there are too old to cope with the stress of not sleeping at night. Well, although we Junior engineers are still able to stay up and running with very little sleep (or lack thereof), I fear our resistance will not stay as resilient unless some measures are put into place.

Actually, I was compelled to do some actions especially since the illness I fell victim to a few weeks ago may be due to the continuous graveyard shifts. Last year, I think I've done more night shifts than day and evening shifts; the stress manifested with a weaker immune system that paved the way for some respiratory infection. The point is, I would have recovered easily had my immune system been as strong as it was before.

The only solution I thought that would work for the time being would be to divide the whole week's duty and distribute the night shift. As of the moment, things are going smoothly, especially since I've also adjusted even the restdays and tweaked everything to keep everyone satisfied.

And there is also the matter of who would go on duty during the holidays. This really isn't much of a problem except during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Basically, those who would want to avail of the premium pay are the ones who stay behind. Let's just say this is Rule#1 as regards holiday duties.

Well, the problem with the incoming Holy Week is that only two persons are keen on staying; everyone else expressed desires to spend their time with their families (including myself). So, the matter had to be resolved using Rule#2: if the person had gone on vacation for the specific holiday the previous year, he should allow the others to have a break this time around.

And Rule#2 specifically obliges me to stay behind this week. As such, I've got no choice but to work out a schedule that gives me 9 straight days of work. Yeah, it's not exactly a good work week to look forward to, but since I've done longer duties before, I don't mind it much.

Hopefully nothing goes wrong during my duty (so I could spend my time updating my blog and stuff) =P

Lost memories

The coming week is Holy Week for us Catholics; thus, I'll be on-duty for 9 straight days starting the day after tomorrow. But no, this update isn't about work. I'll post something work-related later (hopefully).

Anyway, I had just woken up from my siesta (yeah, that's one of the things we got from our Spanish colonizers that we still hold onto through these years). The afternoon had been so hot (although not as hot enough as that day a few weeks ago) and I was sleepy, so I decided to take a nap. It's a lot cooler now while I'm typing, and there's a moderately-strong breeze blowing.

Yeah, this is an ideal summer afternoon for me (not so hot, not so cold). I just hope the Philippines has this weather all year long. =P

Moments ago, I had to step out and hang something on the clothesline when I had the urge to stare right up at the sky. There, visible as I could remember, was the moon distinctly afloat among the clouds. As I stared at that half-circle marvel, I just remembered that I no longer did remember that the moon is visible during the day. >_<

I realized that there are so many things I'm quite taking for granted these days, and there are so many memories that are quite lost. I know that I've decided to forget a few things some time ago, so as I could start new chapters in my life. I guess I've forgotten that there are some trivial things that may have been included.

But for whatever it's worth, I guess I can still retrieve those that are in need of retrieving. There are just too many things that defined me and made who I am today, and I think it's best that I keep remembering them so as not to repeat some mistakes I've done in the past.

That, and to always remember why I have several idiosyncrasies that I'm still holding on up to this very day. It almost became a lost memory that once while I was a kid, I enjoyed staring at the summer skies just to look at the clouds and the moon. It's one of the things I love doing during summer, and it's one of the things that really do define who Jherskie is.

Planning and Re-planning

Planning and, when the times really call for it, re-planning is an art. Really.

Those two are some of the things that I usually preoccupy myself with. Not that I just love to plan things out, but I make plans (and/or change them) because I enjoy the fleeting feeling of happiness and satisfaction that accompanies those moments when I see things happening according to plan.

In that sense, planning is really an art, don't you agree?

Planning and re-planning is an art. Really.Alright, I was kinda bluffing actually :P

While I do enjoy seeing my plans actually being set into action, I generally get disappointed when I have to re-organize everything. But sometimes, re-planning is also good. Especially when there are too many flaws on the original plan. Or, when the time tables are just not right.

Well, I do have several of those plans that have been re-planned over and over again that I no longer think about the original draft. One of those is my plan to get a leaner body (something I'm striving for ever since I can remember) XD

So, I'll be missing my target to have those washboard abs (wishful thinking LOLz) in time for summer. For the nth time already, I'll be moving my deadline for the next summer season. I just hope all this re-planning will end sometime soon. >_<

Looking Back and Moving Forward

It's more than a week since I last posted something. My inactivity is rather caused by the notorious writers' block, although I can say that I'm just too lazy to come up with something. :P

Yeah, when the dreaded block strikes, even the most veteran of writers will have to yield to it's power. That, or try to overcome it.

In my case, there are several remedies that are quite effective in dealing with the accursed affliction. Perhaps when I have compiled them all, I can post it here in the future. However, most of those remedies have proven to be not working when I'm just too lazy and distracted.

Yup, I had been distracted. One, I was trying to recover from a nasty combo of depression and cold. So, both my mental and physical faculties are not in the optimum condition and I really didn't try to push myself to write.

Second would be that I didn't come upon any suitable topic to blog about. Sure there are lots of things that caught my interest, but none of them are suited for this blog. Although, I may add, there had been some stuff that had me rushing (almost) to my pc and type away. However, at the moment the idea struck, I had my hands full with other matters that I let the thought pass me by.

Then, there come moments such as this one, when I'm not so busy with stuff and my mind gets in the mood to bring back fond memories. And with the rush of those memories, my fingers suddenly desires to mate with the keyboard and produce some compositions.

So yeah, looking back helps me to move forward and not allow my writing skills to stagnate. In the next couple of hours, a few more posts will be put up after this one (I hope!) ^_^

Crazy weather

The weather in this country where I'm in is really crazy. While the sun was high up in the sky, it was very hot but when clouds cover it, the whole place cools down very quickly. Well, that is to be expected from a tropical country, I guess.

It is largely due to this crazy weather that I was downed by a common cold for the past few days. As of the moment, I'm still recuperating from all the complications of the disease and taking several medicine.

In as much as I'd want to, I want to write while I'm not busying myself with work (I'm on sick leave). Sadly, the cold medicine had me sleepy and I've no choice but to succumb. Hopefully, I can get back to actively updating this blog after I fully recover.