FINDING FULFILLMENT IN WORK

Started another reading plan in my bible app. Yes, keyword - STARTED. I literally start them, but could not last too many days, somewhat lose interest, and not end. Same with the topic at hand - work. I most of the time start something, only to not have it end the way I would like to.

Maybe because I'm a crammer. I live for cramming. Been doing this since high school, carried it over to college, and prolly have it embedded in my system already. I procrastinate up 'til I need to burn all my energy to catch a deadline. Maybe it's the rush, and the feeling of success when I finish the task. Which only means one thing. I'm not passionate enough with my work. Shame. Shame. Shame.

Yes it's a shame for Christians like me. To not be working like the best steward I should be. Yes. How could I be entrusted with big things when I waste my time and effort doing nothing and busting my brains to cram for the small things.

Because I don't find it fulfilling anymore. I don't know when I also felt so fulfilled with my work since so far, I have been looking at it as a means of survival. Means to fund my hunger, my need for shelter, my want of a comfortable life, my whims. Well, it has changed a little over time. Added reasons are my daughters. For their survival and for their comfortable life. Fulfillment still out of the equation.

Conclusion: I have to find something. Something that will make me feel fulfilled. More than just being told I need to work like Jesus is my boss. Because honestly, it only made me feel guilty. But not enough to push me to work harder, or be proud of what I'm doing.

#uselessWednesday

The most number of laptops that are running and being used by the attendees in one single meeting.

So far.

Internal Audit Still Unrecognized

credits:  www.newtimes.co.rw

When they said they will not be able to prioritize Internal Audit requests due to operational deadlines, I was not expecting that what they meant was that they will totally ignore any request for documents or questions from Internal Audit.

Darn it. Here we go again. Do they really want to have the freaking CEO or President command them to even just answer simple emails from Internal Audit??? This is... Well, somehow, expected from a company who a few years back combined In
ternal Audit with Quality Management (absorbed is the term) and now wants to separate it again and yet, does not do anything that seems to make that happen. Grrrr. Even one of the existing Internal Auditors does not want to be separated from operations and wants the charter to specifically say that Internal Auditors should be allowed to perform operational duties aside from auditing.

This is gonna be challenging.

Accounting 101: Payment Terms or Invoice Terms. When am I supposed to Pay that?!?

Even if you're not in the accounting field, you may simply hear "terms of Payment" or "Payment terms" or "Invoice Terms" from friends or family members who are in business or working as accountants or bookkeepers.

So to get a low-down on the said terms (sorry I can't seem to let go of the term "terms"... hahaha!) here's a simple explanation of the most commonly used payment terms or terms of payment for purchases:

CBD or Cash Before Delivery – means exactly as it says, we need to pay for the item/s before they can be delivered. In other words, it’s a prepaid purchase, whether using cash or check. If using check, the check date is always BEFORE the delivery and to be given to the supplier BEFORE delivery of the item/s.

COD or Cash ON Delivery – probably the most commonly heard of all. It simply means, there will be an exchange between the company or buyer and the supplier, upon delivery, the cash or check will be immediately given to the supplier. If using check, the check date may be on or before delivery, but never after.

(photo from http://www.creditcardchaser.com)

PDC 7/30/45/60 Days – means a check is prepared immediately upon the approval of the Purchase Order (PO) and the said check is dated 7/30/45/60 days from the PO date. The check may be given on or before delivery, but the check date depends on the PO date. If what we mean is that the purchase is due for payment within 30 days, this is NOT the term we should use, instead we should use 30 Days Term or Nett 30 Days.

7/15/20/30/45/60/90 Days Term – as mentioned, this means that the check need not be prepared immediately, but the purchase or payable should be paid within 7/15/20/30/45/60/90 days from date of receipt or invoice date whichever is later.

Nett 7/15/20/30/45/60/90 Days –  means the entire amount of the purchase is due within the said number of days. This is commonly used in combinations like 2%, 10 Days/Nett 30 which really means that if the account is paid within 10 days, you will be given 2% discount, if you choose not to pay early, then the whole amount is due within 30 days from purchase yet.

So hopefully, from this spur of the moment entry, I may have shared something of use. ^_^

Budgeting: Every Finance Manager's Headache

Every year-end, all companies do their budgeting for the coming year. This means, actual expenses as of the cut-off date are collated, evaluated and then a budget for the following year is drawn from the proposed projects and actual operating expenses as assessed previously.

It just so happened that our company first gives all department heads to "propose" their own budgets. But then, these are subject to checking and revising and correcting, of course, by the Corporate Officers, before it gets approved.

So how come I'm writing these down? Because I'm irked. Annoyed. Irritated. That some of the department heads think that once they have proposed something, it becomes law. Hello?! What's so hard to understand that we still have to go through the checking process and the approval? Our budget cannot be approved if it didn't pass the qualifications or limits set by the authorized "approvers" - who in this case is the Corporate Finance Officer. How come you all sound so irritated that your proposed budget went down? Tell me, would you rather have the same budget as last year because we didn't budge and accepted the limits set by Management? Or will you be willing to accept the new proposed budget and stop blaming me because the figures you're seeing now are significantly lower than what you proposed beforehand?

I know. It's law that everyone should hate the Finance Manager. But hey, is this YOUR money we're talking about? Isn't this the company's? Isn't this the owners' money you're planning to spend relentlessly?

Gimme a friggin' break...

I miss Blogging!

I do. I miss blogging. Not the deadlines or the research, but just jotting down, typing away... Just like that.. I kinda lost the touch after giving birth since my Phoenix is a handful, but I totally want to go back to blogging again. For one because it just loosens up my brain a bit just enough to get me going with my tasks again. Two, it kinda gives a little jiggle to my head just so the creative juices will keep on seeping through the tiny little cracks so I don't lose it at all.

Hmmm.

And I also miss the cha-ching I sometimes get from blogging. *smirk*


Don't mind me though. I'm just bored.

Her looks cannot deceive

Although I personally cannot say that she really used public funds to get beauty treatments and have cosmetic procedures like Nose Reshaping (Rhinoplasty) and Chin and Cheek Implants performed on her face, but from the looks of it, Jane Cajes really has changed face, hasn't she?

Here's an older photo of her:

And here's the newer one from one of her facebook pages.

And I can't help but notice, is that a Blackberry she's holding?!

Anyway, let's just hope that our justice system does something right about all these issues because aside from allegedly using public funds for personal physical improvement, there have been significantly-priced purchases and services bought from certain suppliers or service providers without ever going through public bidding.

Hmm, you're quite an early worm and a quick study, aren't you? Are these what your parents are teaching you?

Let me Rant on my Own Little Blog

Because....

These new staff are just f****** irritating. They just don't seem to know what to do! I did NOT really want them on board because their respective interview results were just not satisfactory enough but my supervisor, for the love of God, wanted them in.

And now, this one guy, who always brings tissue paper whenever he goes to the restroom (are you gay?!) always asks stupid questions. Questions that anyone who has tried auditing at least once in his short life can answer. I believe he absolutely thinks that if he asked me what to do and I gave him the answers, in other words, spoon-fed his lame ass, he wouldn't have problems later when I check his work.

Oh really?! I DON'T THINK SO!!!!

I'm not senile, I can remember what things I've discussed in detail, what comments and tips I've given, what reading materials I gave, what other sorts of prep I told them to do, I've exhausted my patience showing them how to do one audit at a time, step by f****** step. And still!?! This...person...isn't sure what to do and keeps on asking these irritatingly stupid questions!

I'm sorry, but I'm not your mom to spoon-feed you. If your teachers gave you everything during college so you can pass their subjects, be called a graduate and pass your freaking board exams, well, I'm different. We went to the same university, that's why I KNOW what kind of education you should have gotten. We dealt with more or less the same teachers, that's why I KNOW what kind of people gave you your undergrad arsenal. I took the same board exams you took and passed it too, that's why I KNOW that you can manage to use your brain for thinking.

For pete's sake man, use your f****** brain! And while trying to do that, please bear in mind, tattoo it in your skin if you need to, I can see past your antics, I've been in this department for more than 3 years already, I've dealt with even more difficult auditees that what you're supposedly having difficulty with right now, colleagues, even supervisors, so take my word for it, I'M NOT STUPID!

And please, stop talking to yourself, stop using the other staff's stuff, stop re-arranging the office furniture, the bulletin board, etc..stop poking your nose on things your not supposed to meddle with! Because if I wanted any of that crap, I'd do it myself.

Hey Newbie, Be Warned.

To tell you honestly, you must be very careful. You're treading on thin ice here. I'm just quietly observing. So far, you're on your way to being the second person who didn't get past regularization in this department (probably even this whole company).

Seriously.

You applied for this job, you should at least show interest with what you're supposed to be doing. Auditing doesn't mean you just email people and wait for their replies. You have to get on your feet and go to your auditees, interview them, look at their facial reactions, dig for the documents if you have to. Don't just sit there and warm your office chair. You're not being paid to act as if you're the boss. Just waiting to get instructed and waiting for more. You're not supposed to ask me what you should out in your report because you were supposed to be the who was auditing, right? All the resources are available, you have soft copies, you can borrow the printed forms, you can interview, you can photocopy.. You just have to get your lazy as*s off that friggin' chair and start BEING the auditor you told us you can be during your dang interview!!!

Open the Door!

In the midst of the fire, these people called Security to have a locked door opened thinking it's the fire exit.

Reading is still a Project - even at work.

I didn't think reading can still be a project even after high school when book reports were requirements to get a final grade.

So what exactly am I talking about?

It's the LSOP elevation thing where my department and another one we call CSD embark on reviewing just about 200 local SOPs (LSOPs) developed by colleagues that are either still here or not. These LSOPs come from different properties/branches and from different departments. Just imagine the bulk of the reading material! Eeeek!

Aside from reading them, we have to literally review them one by one and sort them out according to a set of criteria to be able to come up with a list of all the LSOPs that we shall be recommending to be elevated to SOP status. Which means, in normal human language, that once these local SOPs are made into SOPs, they can be implemented or required to be implemented universally or to all properties/branches. Did you understand anything there? lol!

As a backgrounder, so you all won't be too confused about the terms,

An LSOP or Local Standard Operating Procedure is a set of procedures developed by a particular authority, which can be a supervisor or the department head him/herself, submitted for approval, and once approved, can only be implemented or is just applicable to their own branch, and not to the other geographical branches. For example, one Finance LSOP created by the Finance Controller of the Manila Branch is only applicable to the Manila Branch.

On the other hand, an SOP or Standard Operating Procedure, is of course mandatory and applicable to all branches, regardless of location or authorship.

Farmville, Cafe World, Audit, Head and Tooth

New updates on Farmville and Cafe World are up and you may have noticed that already - you can now expand chicken coops (I lost one of my two coops because of this. grr!) and get bonuses for helping out friends and neighbors. I also noticed Farm Hands, these "spirits" that help you harvest from all your animals in just a split second. Cool. But i think you can't buy them, you just have to wait for a friend or neighbor to publish that he/she is sharing his/her farm hands. Such a big help they are, especially that a lot of my chickens are all over the place!

The spice rack update in Cafe World has also started. It feels a lot like the upgrade/building of the horse stable in farmville, you have to ask your friends and neighbors to donate the necessary materials to build your own spice rack. I just haven't grasped exactly what that rack is for.

Moving on. Remember that post I had about Uncle Fester being in my office? Well, he was back here the day before yesterday because he said he needed the help of the auditors. Great. Just when we're about to drop another bomb he wouldn't want to catch.

He said he already told Yuan is Nothing (yes, it's another alias, sue me... I just hope I remember all these codes I use.. lol!) about it and that he was to proceed to out office to discuss it with us. And so the problem was actually something I've already heard of before, I just didn't stick my nose into it. Apparently, it's still something we need to stress out for, but it's gonna be worth it, I can be assured of that. It just so happens that the timing and the motive for Uncle Fester's sudden concern is a bit... questionable.  ;)

But. Rest assured, that we will handle that issue with utmost care and enthusiasm. And as for you our dear Uncle Fester, see you later.

Those things aside, I had a headache before starting this post, and it's fading just about now. Not because I'm blogging, but because I took something for it already.

Hmm, the tooth is because I'm going to visit the company dentist a few hours from now because I managed to nick off the dental fillings on one of my molars, and the incident left a gaping hole on this darn tooth, which now is uber sensitive and sometimes causes my headaches. Grrrr.... Thank God for dental benefits!

And before I forget, I'm starting to get vibes that Zebra Girl (yep, code again!) has tipped off one of our audit concerns because I cannot contact the one and only phone number this guy supposedly owns. Hmmm. Guilty, eh?

It's now lunch time here, my people are now scratching their heads due to hunger issues. And I think they don't want to go ahead and eat without me. I don't look like fried chicken, do I?

;)

Eating.

Eating is that one activity that takes your mind, and mouth, off from snoozing at work.

Doing 5S, I mean 6S, to my Office

I have been invited several times by our human resources department to join this 5S Housekeeping traning session and I have never been interested.


Until, I finally awoke to the fact that my desk looked like hell, and I couldn't find a paper clip amidst all the clutter. I had too many papers lying around, too many teeny weeny thingies jumping around my laptop, which practically took over the center of my desk. Don't get me wrong, my desk isn't small, and my laptop isn't too big. It's just that I have too much stuff ON my desk which I practically don't use every single minute of the day.


So I decided to search the net for this 5S thing, and a twitter friend, @OlinTaha pointed out that it's now 6. And voila, after searching more, it really was 6!

Implementing the 6S Rules.

1. SORT. After looking around and noticing this 2 big piles of paper, I decided to sort it all out. What to take note of:
•  Company's retention policy on documents - this will help you decide which ones you need for reference and which ones you can throw away.
• What I need everyday - the documents/forms I need for my work everyday.
• Those that need immediate attention - very self explanatory, right?
• Pending items - reports, forms and others that need attention too or those that were just set aside for the time being because you prioritized.
• Trash bin/shredder - you need one near you so you can just immediately and painlessly toss your unnecessary clutter into these useful things.
2. STRAIGHTEN OUT / SET IN ORDER. Once you've sorted out which ones are still needed and you've actually finally thrown away that 2007 budget proposal, you can now start to set order on your office.
• Set aside a "personal" space for your things like your pens, stapler, planner, binders, telephone, and even your mug.
• Just like any other space, try to maintain each one, do not let something get out of its "personal" space because once this happens, then it's not gonna be so orderly anymore.
• Add or put labels on folders, binders, containers, etc. A basic organizing skill, this also helps you identify the contents of a huge binder without creating chaos on your desk.
• Compartmentalize your bulletin/cork board. If you're like me and you have your own cork board in your office, go ahead and straighten things out. Separate personal notes and tacks from those work related. You can use adhesive tapes or colored pins to separate these compartments for easy reference.
• Again, be creative! Use colored papers, post-its or even colored adhesive tapes to set those "personal" spaces or labels. The more involved you get, the more importance you'd give to this order you have finally created.
3. SHINE / SWEEP. Since we're already organizing things and whatnot, why not go a step further and not wait for the cleaning guy? Wipe the surfaces of your desk, the filing cabinet, chairs, side tables, counter tops and even the printer. You can always do this just once in a while, let's say once a week, just to start things going. The cleaner it is, the more at ease you'd feel toward your workspace.
4. STANDARDIZE. I actually do not have the solid idea on how to implement this to my desk/office, but I think this can be related to being organized. By setting a "standard" on how to handle things, like using neatly cut scratch papers for little notes or phone call inquiries and tiny reminders, you can lessen the chances of losing that important telephone number you scribbled "somewhere" when your superior started yelling. Or, just continue following your company standards or policies. I think that'll help a lot.
5. SUSTAIN. Don't procrastinate! If you need to yell at yourself and risk looking like a dimwit to anyone who'd accidentally see you talking to yourself, do it! Do not put off doing something if you can finish it today. This also goes with your organizing and cleaning up. If you can put that file neatly into that blue-colored folder, go ahead. Make your day. *lol! so cheesy...*
6. SAFETY. And because you are already starting to be a neat-freak, you'd notice that you'll take extra steps in cleaning up or straightening out without even realizing that you have just added a safety feature to your everyday things, like making sure that the wires are neatly tuck and are not sticking out to snag someone's foot, or that you have kept that big metal scissors from the hands of a disorganized and stressed workmate, or simply reducing the risk of being smothered with smoking hot brewed coffee by simply clearing out that space away from your telephone.

Isn't that easy?



source:
5S in the Office

Hah! A Fancy New Phrase

Managed to coin another fancy shmanzy new phrase a few hours ago...

Exponential Rate of Brain Cell Depletion

And it's actually a bit self-explanatory.

Yey!

:)

Brain Cells

Brain Cells.

• the main cellular composition of your brain, which is the organ you use for both voluntary and involuntary bodily functions.
• the more you think, the more you use up.
• the less you think, they still get used up.
• what you need to be useful. at all.
• a scarce thing nowadays.
• is very hard to produce, I think.. (Ooops, there goes 1,000 of them already, just for that statement! lol!)

I'm sick, don't bug me!

I'm not feeling well. Don't mess with me.

This was the warning I issued to all my facebook and twitter friends early today because, as what it says, I'm not feeling well. Runny nose is not such a good thing, especially if you need to look down all the time to look at your laptop screen. Darn it.

Even the base of my nostril is a bit sensitive to the touch already. I've been sneezing and wiping for just about the whole morning already. Gulped up more than 600ml of fruit juice already, a cup of green tea, and huge mugs of water. Been to the restroom for just about 6 times since I came into the office, and at the rate I'm consuming liquids right now, I just might double that number before the day ends.

Aside from colds, I actually have a lot of things going on in the office. And I'm getting a bit fidgety. Grrr.. This was also why I got stuck with no recent updates in the last few days. I was actually busy.

harhar. *sniff*

Got to go. *sneeze*


PS:
I was just wandering, doesn't Bilivery have any Valentine's promo or something?

Stress goes a Notch Higher

But it's not fatal.

I just got a pinch of stress added to my routine stress level because I just opened the email saying Big Boss has set a meeting with me. Me. Yes me. I'm not kidding. No matter how I'd like to think that it's a joke, it's not. Grrr. And the fact that I do not have a single strand of idea why in the world we'll be meeting stresses me out some more.

Hmm. It's really a case of curiosity gone wild. It's because that appointed time was set with just myself he'll meet with.

What do you think are we gonna talk about? Is he gonna pull my hair out because of something I did or didn't do? Is he gonna scold me 'til my blood run thin? Or... or.... What do you think?!

Grrrr!!!




original photo from chromasia.com
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Marlene Aguilar and Uncle Fester

Woke up too early. More or less 4am, and right now I'm still a bit groggy. I'm kinda developing this ability to wake up at about 4 to 4:30 in the morning just to go to the bathroom. jeez.

Anyway.

So Tom and I were having our breakfast, he was speeding away, zooming through his sisig special (not too early for sisig, y'know!) and adobong camote tops when up in the tv comes Marlene Aguilar, all cooked to brown perfection (sorry 'bout that.. couldn't help but notice!). And she starts saying things I really couldn't put in the same plane as with the word "sane".

Imagine. Asked to give a comment about rumors or statements that she needs to be checked out psychologically, she just says she's smarter than everyone else and that nobody can understand. I'd say! And she keeps on repeating that her son was set-up. Asked also what she can comment on the NBI finding that the gun used in killing the son of the diplomat and the gun that her son used during the crossfire was one and the same, she says her bodyguard has access to the gun. Huh? Her son used the gun and she says her bodyguard can touch and use it anytime. Crazy.

Moving on.

Uncle Fester came by the office again, now showing his "brainchild". This internal monitoring thing, which I think is not that genius, really. But the report's going out today, and basically, this piece of information may have been useful some other time, but not at this particular moment. He has actually dropped by about 3 times already since our discussion yesterday, giving copies of requests, or releases. And now this. He gave me one binder-full of these monitoring sheets. What on earth are they using now if I have their file? Hmmm?


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Busy and Productive Morning, Hopefully

Seems I may have to pray a little harder.

I need to have a productive busy morning every once in a while, and this is one of those mornings when I really want to have that kind of experience.

Not that I'm saying I'm not at all busy - yes I am, super at that.. But not very productive. I usually spend my days conjuring up audit programs and audit plans for my department, holding meetings with the bosses (official or not), or just listening to them tattle about things they are frustrated about - office related or personal - without even thinking if the person they're talking to is not at all disappointed with whatever things are happening. Hmmm. Martyrdom? Nah.

Anyway, started the morning with Coke in my hands. Not a good idea, right? But I'm still sleepy my monitor blurs out. So I just raided my google reader subscriptions and decided to join another online contest. What the heck, if I win, cool. If not. At least I tried, didn't I?

What to do, what to do. I actually have a meeting this morning, an issue that needs discretion. And my people have an ongoing thing right, of which I'm not so happy. They're beginning to be pain-in-the-arses that I just resulted to just shutting up for a while. Not a good leadership thing to do, but I think I just have to give them a bit of wriggling space to be able to start "thinking" on their own. As usual, have online work. Badz already told me yesterday they are about to start talking to a client about my "online services". Yay! Money, money, money. Less hassle, less tangle, more inflow! I just need more braincells and a decent internet connection. Fair enough.

And oh, I have about 3 - 5 articles left unwritten for another online client. Darn it. She's already asked for updates, but this "issue" I'm handling in the office right now is just more important. But I'll get back to you, I promise!

By the way, do you like to join that contest I was babbling about? Click here.


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