Early Morning Irritation

I know it's too early to be annoyed or irked by other people in the workplace, but can you blame me?!

I'm not a perfectionist or anything but it just, well, took me aback when someone from the Concierge blurted out something I didn't quite like to hear this early.

To give you a background, I availed of my employee benefit and checked into the hotel - well, actually, my uncle was the one to use the room. So anyway, I've already done checking-in, and was a bit annoyed already because the darn Front Office Gal almost blew my cover with the payment thing. {This part I won't share anymore. Nyehehe} I turned around and asked ...

the Concierge Supervisor if there was anyone who he can ask to help us with the luggage. One bell service guy appeared out of nowhere, thank God, but then this grumpy Concierge Supervisor who we'll name as Wendell, blurted out "Dong, tabangi sa ni sila Dong kay kutihan raba kaayo ni..." ["Dong, help these people first 'coz they're quite meticulous."]

Grrrrh! The nerve! I wanted to strangle him right then and there! Same as what I told the Director of Rooms - yep, I told... - that I wouldn't mind the snide comment if it were told or said to my face or if only other employees were present. I really wouldn't mind if other employees would overhear because almost everyone knows that the Internal Auditors, like me, are sometimes very observant and we do sometimes, although unintentionally, make a fuss of things especially when customer service goes bad. And majority of the employees can emphatize with that.

But the thing is - hence the fuss - is that there were paying guests around at that time who may have overheard the really very unnecessary comment. This is what got to my nerves. It really annoyed me that he can just blurt out things like that in front of the hotel guests and it doesn't bother him. After all the years he has been working in the hotel, he hasn't quite mastered the art of whining quietly or at least, not in front of the guests.

Crazy. But I'll be waiting for the action that his Department Head will be taking to deal with this situation.

Just an Update:
The Department Head has already talked to the Wendell guy, and as expected, he denied it and said that I might have just misheard what he said. Hmmm, is he that special for me to make up stories involving him?! He's not a famous guy, so he should stop imagining he's one.

Do You Like What You See?

Save it then!!!

Save the Earth.

It's...

EARTH DAY

What To Do When a Monster Comes

3-Minute Management Course

Most of the time, we encounter managers, CEOs, even Presidents who do not know how to manage their people, resources, or their very own homes.

It's a good thing I checked my email today, it offered a solution short and quick enough yet frankly "dropped" the idea right on my lap. The 3-MInute Management Course.

{That is, if you can finish reading it and understand it also all within the span of three minutes! :) }


Lesson One:

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit
saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?"

The eagle answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground
below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on
the rabbit and ate it.


Management Lesson:

To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

___________________________________________________

Lesson Two:


A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to
the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the
energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied
the bull.

"They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him
enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day,
after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top
of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of
the tree.


Management Lesson:

Bullsh*t might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

_____________________________________

Lesson Three:


A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird
froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying
there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird
lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.
The dung was actually thawing himout! He laid there all warm and happy,
and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following
the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and
promptly dug him out and ate him.


Management Lesson:

(1) Not everyone who sh*ts on you is your enemy.

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of sh*t is your friend.

(3) And when you're in deep sh*t, it's best to keep your mouth shut!



This ends the three minute management course.. Haha.

I Just Called to Say...

"I just called to say... I love you..."

A very famous song sung by Stevie Wonder. This is just what some people would like to do, especially overseas contract workers who would just love to call their families every once in a while to keep up with updates, to ask how are the kids, to say 'I love you' to their wives/husbands, ask whether grandma has taken her medication? Has junior taken his vitamins? Has the dog given us puppies yet?

Unfortunately, calling abroad is just a cent too expensive. I think this site can help - http://www.therichcom.com, a site which offers prepaid phonecards for calls around the world with cheap rates. Customers can use the web site to search for best deals for calls from United States to anywhere in the world. This is especially useful for our relatives now located or assigned in the US. Or our former classmates that have wandered abroad and landed somewhere in Uncle Sam's land.

The site itself is quite user-friendly, although I think the interfacing is a little crowded. But see for yourself though. I just like more colors and a bit more childish appearance like rounded boxes and things like that. Hehehe.

Anyway, for cheap rates and accessible phonecards, go to http://www.therichcom.com.

You hit someone with your car, what would you do?

Gotcha. Yep, It's a survey. Go and answer it yourself and post it, if you like...


1. What do you think is your worst habit?
Procrastinating. I think this is also one of the top items in everybody's list.

2. Are you trying to quit/stop/refrain from doing it again?
Hmmm, not really... Hehehe.

3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would it be?
Alice Walton

4. Why would you want to be that person?
She's the third richest woman in the world {says right here...}

5. A car is speeding out of control and person is in its path, would you sacrifice yourself to save that person? Why?
Umm, nope.
Just kidding. Well, maybe... yes, but practicality bites at me - he/she can slow the car down a little, or maybe even put it to a halt.

6. How many serious relationships have you had?
One

7. You knew your boyfriend/girlfriend was cheating on you, what would you say to him/her?
"Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

8. Would you confront the other girl/boy?
I don't need to. She wouldn't know how to face me.

9. 50 thousand dollars is sitting in your mailbox, would you keep the money? Why?
Yep. Unless they show proof of ownership.

10. You have one month to live, what would you do or want to experience?
bungee jumping/skydiving, travel in cruise

11. What are you most attracted to by the opposite sex?
humor, brains, height, eyes

12. Would you be attracted and date someone who is a complete opposite of you? Why?
nope. 'coz that would mean he's a complete idiot.

13. You know a boy/girl who is “very” sexually active yet attractive; they ask you for a date, would you go out with them? And why?
Nope. that's suicide.

14. Your close friend decides to get a sex change, how would you react?
"What the fukc?!"

15. You hit someone with your car, what would you do?
Depends. If it's someone i hate, I'd put the car in reverse and hit him/her again, then pretend to be shocked, then bring him/her to the hospital. :) - evil!!!

16. Someone broke your heart, but asked to get back together with you, would you?
been there. done that. guess I already answered that before even being asked.

17. Can you recall an embarrassing moment? Briefly explain.
Hmm.. I slipped in front of other people?

18. Do you have a good singing voice?
when I'm alone, yeah.

19. What kind of instrument would you like to play?
i still like the guitar. i'd like to try the drums.

20. What is your favorite song ever?
don't wanna miss a thing... ;)

21. What is your favorite band/group/singer?
i don't have a favorite.

22. Who are your favorite Filipino & foreign actor and actress?
Filipino: albert martinez, christopher de leon, sharon, vilma, never nora!
Foreign: Morgan Freeman , denzel washington, angelina jolie!!!, brad, orlando bloom, hugh grant, hugh jackman, jim carey, nicole kidman, kate hudson

23. What kind of car do you drive?
i still don't have one, and i don't know how to drive.

24. If you don’t have a car, what will be the car that you will most likely purchase next?
a mini-cooper. or maybe a mazda 3.

25. What is your dream car?
a bmw top down sleek black two-seater sports car

26. Do you have your own home or live with someone?
i'm still renting a room as of press time

27. How many computers do you own? Laptop or desktop?
i used to own one, but it's kinda out of order right now.

28. How many television sets do you have?
i own one

29. What is your favorite movie ever?
hmm. i don't have a favorite anymore, i'm not what I used to be in high school. urgh.


Thanks to Lem for the list.

NASA Hits on a 13-Year-Old

A 13-year-old German boy recalculates the possibility of an asteroid hitting Earth and bthen alerts NASA about it. As the story goes, NASA acknowledges that he was right.

Right?
Wrong.
{read the rest below}

NASA already made a press release disputing the boy's calculations and denying that they agreed on his calculations of the 1-in-450 chances of the asteriod Apophis hitting the earth in April 2029 when it approaches earth. But NASA strongly denies any contact or correspondence with the boy and also emphasizes the very low probability (1 in 45,000) of an Earth impact by the asteroid Apophis in 2036.


for other details:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/apr/HQ_08103_student_asteroid_calculations.html
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/91346/wednesdays-buzz-you-missed

Facts about the Male Genitals

Due to insistent boyfriend's demand, this post has been taken down... :)

To read the details, please go to the original post... Click HERE....

Thank you.

:)

Low on Business

I'm finding my blog stats dwindling a little right now, think i'll be cooking up something just to spike up the numbers.... Hmmm... I wonder....

Forgetting Birthdays - A Mortal Sin

I saw it in his eyes, he was sad. Not because I didn't give him a gift, not because we didn't do something really special, but because his own family didn't seem to remember. It was even made worse when my own mom called him to greet and yet his own mother never did.

I was also a little disheartened at how something so trivial at times be so important to some. This time I was given another glimpse at how fragile he really was. He was hurt. Even his relatively closest brother didn't remember.

Sometimes we neglect to think of how these little things affect other people. There are times that we think that it's ok to forget these kind of things - just a way of getting even for them not remembering you own. But personally, I think that only works for acquaintances, co-workers you seldom see, bosses who are too high-up-there to even think about things like birthdays - but for close friends, cliques, family members, even your partners, I think forgetting birthdays is a mortal sin.

It was very evident in the way he acted, his eyes gave it all out. I couldn't do anything else but see him and feel miserable too. It was his birthday, but everyone else seem to have just remembered after 3 days when he offered to buy lunch. It nearly broke my heart again into minute pieces, but I shouldn't let him see because it will just cause him to pity himself more. I couldn't prod him on and force him to act happy, because he really wasn't. I could have felt irk and anger over these family members for not giving him enough importance, but he wouldn't like that. And so I just looked on, hoping that his so-called "family" can just do the simplest thing like putting all their birthdates on their mobile phone's calendar, organizer, their bibles, or something they look at often and can offer alarms on that self-same day.

A greeting doesn't cost much, but it's more valuable than a gift you bought to make up for forgetting.

Dneero Survey... :)

Another survey thing....



Join us to earn a few more cents!!!

SM: Indifferent About Moldy Chocolates

I already received two copies of this email - the incident when a man bought chocolates from SM Supermarket and the thing had molds! The annoying thing was that the supervisor and attendants of SM were not very good with pretending they were concerned. They just stood there like it was very common. Well, maybe it is a COMMON THING FOR SM TO RECEIVE CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE THINGS, ESPECIALLY FOOD ITEMS, THAT THEY SELL. They even said that they would have to talk to their supplier to resolve the issue. But I was thinking, don't they have some sort of quality control that monitors and checks the expiry dates of the things they receive from their suppliers?! Isn't that just common sense for such a big company like SM? Wake up and smell the molds!!!!

Read on below to know the details straight from the person who bought the moldy chocolate. I got these from the email that's circulating. I provided translations for my other readers.. ;)


Yung mga Cudburry na binebenta sa SM Supermarket may amag!
{Cadbury sold at SM Supermarket has molds!}

1st Incident


Around September 2006. Bumili ako ng Cudburry Fruit and Nut sa SM Bicutan. Pag-uwi eh di kinain ko na. Half way sa pagkain, naibaliktad ko ang chocolate bar. Nagulat ako kasi pulbos-pulbos na ang likod. Akala ko natuyong chocolate lang. Nung binuklat ko ang foil, may mga sapot na! Amag pala! Dami ko nang nakain! Yung expiration date nya halos 1 year pa bago mag-expire. Problem ko lang, naitapon ko na ang receipt kaya di na ko nakabalik sa SM para mag-away. Bad trip! {Around September 2006, I bought Cadbury Fruit & Nut in SM Bicutan. I immediately ate it when I arrived home. Halfway through, I flipped the chocolate bar and was surprised to see something powdery on the surface. I thought it was just dried chocolate. When I removed the foil wrapper, I saw cobwebs! It's molds! And I ate too much already! The expiration date said it still has one year before expiry. The problem was, I cannot complain to SM anymore because I already threw the receipt. Bad trip!}

Mula nun di na ko bumibili ng chocolates sa SM. Mga 6 months ago lang siguro ako bumili ulit sa SM ng chocolate. {Since then, I don't buy chocolates from SM anymore. Until just about 6 months ago when I bought chocolates from SM again.}

2nd Incident

Bumili ako ng Cudburry Black Forest sa SM Makati nung January 7, 2008 para pasalubong ko sa 3-year old kong anak. Syempre pag dating ko sa bahay kinain na ng anak ko. Tumikim din kami ni misis. Same nung first incident, kalahati na yung chocolate, nasilip ni misis yung likuran ng chocolate bar, medyo butas na yung isang part dahil sa amag na naman!!! Ang expiration date ay September 2008 pa. Buti na lang di ko naitapon ang resibo ngayon kaya kinabukasan (January 8, 2008) binalikan ko ang SM. Kinuhanan ko pa ng picture ang chocolate. Tingnan nyo yung attachment na "Cudburry Amag Flavor ng SM.jpg". Yung mga itim-itim dyan, yan yung amag. Yung bandang dulo ng chocolate, parang mga spider web na... imagine kinain ng anak ko yan!!! {I bought Cadbury Balck Forest from SM Makati on January 7, 2008 to give to my 3-year old. Of course, when I arrived home, my 3-year old kid started eating it, my wife took a bite also. And same as with the first incident, they already finished half of the chocolate bar. Then my wife saw the back part of the bar and saw tiny holes! Upon inspection, she saw that the holes were because of the molds! The expiration date says it's good until September 2008. Fortunately this time, I managed to keep the receipt. So I went back to SM, took a picture of the chocolate - look at "Cudburry Amag Flavor ng SM.jpg".... The black things there, those are the molds. And at the end part of the bar, there are already spiderwebs. Imagine, my kid was eating that!!!

Punta ko sa SM Makati, sa Customer Service nila. Nagsumbong ako dun sa babae. Dollie Deleon ang name nya (see attached). Kinwento ko sa kanya ang karanasan ko. Unang tanong nya eh kung gusto ko daw palitan yung chocolate, kukuha sila ng ibang stock, bubuksan daw muna bago ko dalhin. Eh kung di ba naman isa't kalahating walang pakundangang plip itong babaeng ito. Sinosoli ko na nga ang chocolate nila kasi may amag, papalitan pa nya ng chocolate din na nanggaling dun sa pinagbilhan ko! Plip di ba? Syempre sabi ko ayaw ko at isoli na lang nila ang pera ko. Umaangal pa din sya. Sabi nya di daw pwede kasi talaga na i-refund, dapat daw replacement kahit ibang items na baka gusto kog bilhin. {So I went to SM makati, to their Customer Service. I complained there and talked to Dollie Deleon. I told her my experiences and she just asked if I wanted my chocolate replaced, because if I did, they're going to get a new one from their stocks, open it for inspection and if OK, then I can have that. What the .....?! Is she insane? I'm returning the chocolate because it has molds and she's suggesting they're gonna replace it with another one from the same stock? Psycho?! Of ourse I told them I don't want it, and that they should just return my money. She still refused. She said it cannot be done, they do not give refunds, just replacements - even with a different item.}



Nagalit na ko. Sabi ko sa kanya (not the exact words pero same thought) "Ganun na lang yun!? Ganun lang gagawin nyo dyan? Papalitan nyo lang eh sinabi ko na nga sa inyo na kinain ng 3-year old na anak ko yan di ba? Tingnan nyo nga itsura nyan! Papalitan nyo lang, wala kayong gagawin?". Plip talaga di ba? Parang di nya nage-gets yung nararamdaman kong takot para sa anak ko at sa amin ng misis ko na kumain ng BULOK na binebenta nila, parang normal na situation lang na nagkamali lang ako ng size ng damit na binili ko... parang ganun lang, plip talaga! Ayun, tsaka nya lang sinabi na dapat daw ako mag-file ng complain. Pinatawag nya yung Supervisor nila at binigyan nila ako ng Complain form para fill-up-an. {At this point I was mad. I told her, not the exact words but more or less meant like this: "Is that it? That's all you're going to do? You're just going to replace it even though I already told you that my 3-year old kid has been eating that? Why don't you take a good look at that?! You're just gonna replace it and do nothing?!" Doesn't she get the fear that I'm feeling, knowing that my wife and kid ate that spoiled chocolate bar? They look at it as if it's normal like I bought a shirt in the wrong size. And that's the only time she said I should file a complaint. So she called her Supervisor and gave me a Complaint Form.

Habang nagpi-fill-up ako ng Complain form, dumating yung Selling Supervisor nila, si Myra Escalona daw yun. Tapos sabi nila ire-refer nga daw nila sa supplier nila yung bulok na inaamag na chocolate nila. Nanghingi ako sa kanila ng writings tungkol sa incident na ito, kung ano yung gagawin nilang actions, etc. Ayaw magbigay, di daw sila nagbibigay ng mga written statement talaga. Meron naman daw akong receipt na proof. {As I was filling out my complaint form, the Selling Supervisor arrived, Myra Escalona. They said they're gonna refer me to their supplier. I asked them for a written transcript of this incident and what are the steps they're going to make, etc. They didn't want to give any. They said they don't give out official written statements and that I already have a receipt as proof.}

BL's Note: At this point I find it weird that they liken an official statement to a receipt. Didn't they go to school or anything?!

Receipt!?

Proof!?

Hanep! Mga plip talaga! Yung Supervisor, andun lang, hinipo-hipo lang yung chocolate, kinanausap saglit yung CS representative, wala namang ginagawa. Kausap ko lang yung CS representative pa din. Since ayaw nila ko bigyan ng written statement, kinuhanan ko sila ng picture gamit ng cellphone ko, yun nga ang naka-attach.{And the Supervisor was just thee looking at and touching the chocolate. Talked to her representative for a moment. Didn't do anything good. And since they didn't want to give an official statement, I took their picture. See attached.}



Maya-maya, umalis yung CS representative, pagbalik may dala nang pera. Ni-refund nila ang pera na pinambili ko nung Cudburry. Sabi nung una di daw pwede di ba? Plip na Sinungaling pa!!! Tapos tinanong ko sila, papano kung masira ang tiyan ng anak ko, ano gagawin nyo? Sabi nila, ipo-forward daw nila ang problem sa Supplier nila. Haaayyy... Ibig sabihin walang kasalanan ang SM sa pangyayaring ito? Eh sila ang nagdi-display ng mga items at nagbebenta sa mga tao tapos ayaw nilang akuin ang kasalanan. tinuturo nila ang supplier. Sila yung binilhan ng tao eh! Sila yung nag-a-alok na tao na bilhin yung mga products na yun. Sila yung kumikita. Tapos kapag problem na sa product iwas na sila. Di ako expert dito pero sa pagkakaalam ko dapat sila ang mag-aayos ng problem ng customer nila, at pag na-ayos nila, sila na makipag-coordinate sa supplier nila kung may sisingilin man sila dun. Pero style nitong mga to hindi ganun, bigla silang mawawala sa picture pag problem na. Mga anak ng.... buti na lang di ako nagmumura talaga. {After a few more moments, the Representative left came back with money. They're refunding my money. How come they said at first that it was not possible? Psychos and Liars!!!! And then I asked them, what if my wife and kid's stomach get fu*ked up? What are they going to do? They said they're gonna forward it to their supplier. Which means, their not at all accountable for what happened? When they're the ones that displayed the items and sold it to the people? They're the ones that offered to sell the products, they're the one earning, and when problems occur, they avoid it? I'm not an expert on this but what I know is that they should be the one settling the issue with the customers, and when they have it resolved, then they should coordinate with the supplier if ever they have something to collect. But these people's style is not like that. They just suddenly disappear from the picture. Sons of .....good thing I don't do profanities.}

Kinuha ko na lang yung pera at umalis na dala yung mga pictures nila at ng chocolate. Pahabol pa yung CS representative ng "Pasensya na sir". Nasa isip ko, "Abangan nyo na lang pagsikat nyo sa email". {So I took the money and went home, bringing with me their pictures and the picture of chocolate. The CS representative even said as I was going out, "Sorry Sir." Then I thought, Just wait for your fame in the emails...}

BL's Note: and in blogs too!!! ;)

My 301st Post

This is my three hundred first (301st) post. Yey!

I'm in church right now, accessed through Badz's Macbook and connected thru WiFi. It's the last day of our 8th World Baptist Youth Congress which has been running for about four days now and our guest speaker is Mike Wells.

You can watch the uploaded videos of the preachings in Bible Baptist Church Katipunan...

:)

Don't Talk Back to Darth Vader!

"But don't talk back to Darth Vader.... He'll get ya!"



She is soooooo cute!!!! I wish my future daughter (or son...) can be prettier and smarter than this kid...

Hehehe... ;)