1. Great job offer but horrific work culture - Last Thursday, I received a phone call from the HR head of one of the companies I was applying for. After a two week hiatus, I got a SMS from him asking if he could call me. He wanted to see me the following day so I met him at 3 PM. I was motioned to the conference room where I was to meet him.
him: Hi Melissa, how are you?
me: Ok naman po. And you?
him: Why didn't you call me?
me: Uh, the last time we talked, you told me that you'll have the hiring memo signed by the President and I was asking for a job description.
him: Ah ok.
Isn't that strange, he hardly remembered what we talked about.
him: Melissa, just like we have discussed over the phone, here is our offered salary.
I thought he was going to hand me a formal job offer. It got me excited to know what it was going to be until he handed a small piece of white paper with their logo on it and turns out, it was a company Post It! A what? A Post It with a breakdown of my taxable and non taxable salary. I only use Post Its to remind me of my things to do or to flag my documents but for a job offer, no.
After explaining the breakdown, he smiled and said "That's it." Geesh. A Post It?! How strange. I was left to probe what other benefits and perks I'll be receiving. Admittedly, the package was great. Very tempting. It was more than what I had asked for and and it even comes with a car among others but something just didn't feel right. Mid-way through our conversation, I asked what the position would be. What he did was to open the flap of the brown short envelope on the glass table and peeked at the paper inside.
him: You will be the (position withheld to protect the company).
Then he closed the flap and looked at me and smiled. I don't think I'll ever get to see what was verbally relayed to me in black and white. I was informed that I will only be able to see a formal job offer once I said yes. Would I want to relive the same work culture from where I came from and way of doing things?
2. I am claustrophobic. I never was one till the year 2004. When I have my anxiety attacks, I can take hyperventilating to a whole new level. One of the things I dread is being trapped in an elevator. Oh my. A few years back and I was on my way to work and I took one of the four elevators at the lobby. A few floors up, the elevator stopped. The lift was full of people and I was beginning to panic. Breathe in, breathe out. I visualizing some other situation so I could get my mind off the fact that I was stuck and I don't even know if there was oxygen good for 25 people. I was standing near the control buttons when I heard someone at the back say ...
him: Matagal pa kaya to?
her: Di naman siguro.
him: Buti na lang walang claustrophobic sa atin dito noh?
If I had a thought bubble pop up, it would have said "Waaaaa! Shut up! I am claustrophobic. Don't rub it in and don't even mention it!" As the seconds passed, I wanted to get a brown bag and breathe with it. Hi hu hi hu. This is a brown bag moment and I'm near hyperventilating. The seconds felt like hours and thank goodness, the building engineer got the elevator up and running before I'm featured on Saksi - Mahigit trenta anyos na babae, hindi nakahinga sa elevator! Live! Pasok Macky Pulido!
3. I hate math. It can never love me back. I remember Ma preparing reviewers for my periodical exams back when I was in grade school. I would never forget the moment when I was having a brain freeze when I was in first grade.
Ma: Meh!!! 150 minus 32 equals?!
me: Ma, pagod na ako.
Ma: Meh, paano pag subtraction and the number ends in zero? Di ba you borrow 1 from 5?!
me: Ma, di ko na kaya. :( (You have got to see my face. I was sulking and in tears.)
Ma's patience was tested many times over and she had to give me a hour's break just so I could relax myself and refocus. I was mathematically trapped. I could still add, subtract, multiply and divide now and I'm glad the calculator was invented. Look Ma, no more tears.
4. Two hours of driving class everyday doesn't get me really far. I'm usually around U.N. Avenue, Paco or Pandacan. I'm always stuck in traffic. My classes are from 10 AM to 12 NN and around this time, I drive with container trucks. Lots and lots of them. I didn't even know they were allowed to drive around that time. I know that a truck ban was imposed and they are only allowed on the streets from 9 PM onwards. The trucks weren't imaginary that's for sure because they dwarf the Toyota Vios that I was driving. Being sandwiched in between 2 container trucks can be quite challenging on my driving skills. I can't get too near and I have to maintain a safe distance.
5. There's also this feeling of being trapped at work. Don't you at times feel that what you're doing just isn't what you really love to do. It took some time for me to decide to change careers and pursue what I wanted to do. You have got to have the right reasons to accept a job and it pays to have a plan and know who you really are. When I was younger, I would simply go with the flow and allow other people to maneuver my life but that took its toll on me. I realized that I had to live my dream, make my own music and sing my own song. Much as Pa wanted me to be an accountant, please refer to number 3 - I hate math. When I was applying for La Salle, my first choice was Accounting. This says a lot how much I listen to Pa and how he can greatly influenced me to do things even when I didn't want to. I'm glad I didn't get in Accounting and I got myself into the double degree program. I almost got trapped there. That was close.
6. Don't we all at one time have chosen to be with a friend, co-worker, business associate, boss who wouldn't really do us good? Knowing someone takes time and it also helps to see things from another person's perspective. Being affiliated or being close to someone blinds you. You kind of feel your gut tell you something is just not right but in the end, you'll be able to confirm that after all, you perceived the person correctly and you move away. I've had the experience of being surrounded by characters who after all only thought of themselves. Breaking free was difficult to do but when I found my cue to cut my ties, I chose to be free.
Life gives us so many choices and we can choose where or who we want to be. It's inevitable to fall into traps but I try my best to steer clear more so that I am now free. Should in the future I find myself in another pothole, I'd like to think that I am better at getting myself out of it faster and most importantly, unscathed.
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