Catch.. Crap.

I have been jobless since January of this year. And God knows what kind of hell I have been in. Got kicked out from my last job because of a couple of social climbing, ass-licking, back-stabbing co-trainers who I never got to know because they were always @ Starbucks and even though they tried to reach out to me, they were naturally unreachable. First off, I couldn't afford Starbucks (and even if I wanted to, I needed the money for my family) and their conversations were all about women they met here and there, their trip to London, or to the US or to Boracay, or how they want to buy a new car, you know, the KONYO thing. They were long-time good friends with the immediate supervisor who was also incompetent by the way. So, a simple - WE DON'T WANT HIM made a few emergency absences make like I set the company on fire.

So, here I am. Til now.

My principles fight with my needs, telling me to just work as an agent in a Call Center. So I did, but couldn't take it so I went on AWOL after a month.

Throughout this year, I was in a series of unfortunate events. I passed up to contract signing in IBM for a New-Hire Language Trainer for a verbal offer of 31k / month which is not bad compared to my last job as a Trainer in Teleperformance for 32,500 / month. A few days before the starting date, they had to retract the offer because they knew that I was just a high-school graduate. It was never asked during any of the interviews (because if you interview for a trainer, competencies are asked - the how-to's, the training cycle, experiences as a trainer, etc.). Same happened to all ten other call centers that almost hired me because of my competencies, my demo, my passion and my desire. It has always been like that. More than once, I get comments like, "at last, someone with great presentation skills, out of all I interviewed!" and "we're really glad you came, we couldn't find anyone better than you", amogst all other great compliments. And I am pretty sure that out of all that they interviewed would be people with a Bachelor's or Master's Degree or could be even a PHD.

So, my jobless streak went to an all-time, almost a year high.

Sometimes when they say -"When you're down, there is nowhere else to go but up", is not totally true. You haven't  known DOWN unless you're DOWN and it just keeps getting deeper and deeper. And really, a few months ago, I thought I was down. I would steal tiny eggplants from the neighbor's yard, pawn my TV to have enough money to go to the interviews and demos I mentioned earlier. There were days that there was no food at all.

Now, living back with my siblings who work in a call center in MOA, I'm given a few hundred pesos every month max, enough for me to buy cigarettes and to go to interviews. I have been so traumatized by the entire application process that I don't expect anything anymore. These past few months, a BPO in Paranaque processed me for the title: Corporate Trainer of Leadership Development which was a mouthful. The application process was awful, compared to most call centers where you can start working after a few days, (weeks at max) of successful processing. I was processed for 3 months! Every single thing that they needed with me, I would be asked to come back for another day. I was even required to submit my own original module with facilitator notes which I never experienced from any company I applied in before.

Being so attracted to the title, I was faithful and loyal to it, declining any other interview that came. I read bopoks about behavioral, and the scientific approaches to learning. Deeper stuff. After 3 months, I passed the final interview and the job offer was expended yesterday.

Looking at the figures of my future basic monthly compensation package, I thought it was a joke! 18k per month?! What the fuck?! And I was speechless. I didn't know how to react. I had no choice. No other interviews. The last time I heard call centers paying Trainers 18/month was way back in 2006, in Telus. I tried to negotiate a bit but the manager said, that offer was already the kind of offer they would give to a Senior Trainer. I said yes. Of course. It's a few days left before Christmas and the new year. I had god-daughters and a whole clan of people I have to give presents to, etc. The Christmas hustle.

So, this keeps me thinking more about how life is here in the Philippines, and that this is not yet over. Just like the other companies, they might do a CI on me, and they can still pull me out if ever. I know that this is just the start of a new series of awfully-crappy events that will come my way and I am none the less, prepared.

Yesterday, on the way home, I went to the lottery outlet, placed a bet for the highest stake prize of 600M pesos which I think they call the 6/55. Thinking of all the bad luck I had this year. And maybe, just maybe, it might turn for the better. Thinking if I won.