brb

urbanites

in the past week or so, i've had some kind of contact from old friends from my short stint in the late, maybe-not-so-lamented Urban Bank. for those who still remember, Urban Bank was a solid pillar in the Philippine financial community until an unfortunate series of events brought it crashing down to earth. 10 years later, i feel like part of a seminal rock band, which kind of broke up just before they hit the big time,  and the dissolution became a very hyped disaster. i left the Bank about a year before it went under, and i feel sorry for those who stayed behind then had to scurry like rats to flee the sinking ship. a sad story to this day, which culminated in the death of star banker TCB.

oh, yeah, back to my old friends. i received a message in my old Friendster account (i know, i know, i barely update the damn thing) that my friend Loida was getting married. i exchanged emails with her sometime back, and she was at a crossroads because her fiance and her had an adorable daughter and their wedding was called off. now, happy days have come again for her as she served notice that she was marrying the guy early this month. they've been together for such a long time, that there should be no other ending. congratulations, Loids!

the other contact i had (again through the trendy-in-2003 Friendster) was from the Australian transplant Maricris, who started a blog and ehem, credited yours truly for inspiring her. Maricris was the older sister/hen we had in our department, and she kept an even keel on things even though we didn't know what the hell we were doing (speak for yourself, grifter). the funniest thing i ever heard from her was her nickname during the Yuletide season (hence the name of her blog). she used to lend me Dragonlance books and that was my one-and-only time brush with fantasy novels, despite not having played any D&D and my tastes ran more along the lines of political/military superthrillers. having lost track of her in the ensuing years, i only had Friendster to tell me that she and husband moved to Oz with their daughter. she actually may have other ties to me as her sister worked with my mother-in-law in the previous decade. funny how life is.

oh, and before August ends, although he won't read this anyway, belated happy birthday, Pong Pagong! thank you for throwing me a line in 1996. it was quite an interesting 17 months.

1992 was so long ago ...

and i miss my well-worn copy of Zander Hollander's Pro Basketball Handbook. he made the reader so familiar with these strange tall men. so we'll just say goodbye to Duck. sorry you ran into that certain Chicago God, er ... guard.

yeah, i had to wake up for this

breakneck pace in first quarter woke me up faster than a cup of joe. playing more of run n' gun, the Spaniards played right into the hands of this generation of Yanks who really like nothing better than to shoot.

speaking of the Spaniards, some of their jerseys read: "Rudy", "Ricky", "Marc", "Bernie", "Raul" etc. sounds like Menudo to me, if only Pau Gasol wasn't a familiar face. and on the topic of faces, i bet they wouldn't be (caught) making this face again. by the way, that kid Ricky Rubio is pretty good for a 17-year old.

As for the Americans, well ... this is the most likable group since the (now-legendary) 1992 Olympians. good thing they weeded out the malcontents (Starbury, Iverson etc.). their 69-61 halftime lead yo-yo'ed between 10 and 2 points, and they traded big shot after big shot with the tough Spaniards and held on for the 118-107 final score.

Redeem Team? sounds like born-again Christians.

no more "Coach L". no more "LeBronze". the USA is back.

and on that note, thank you, Beijing, for a great Olympics (even if that girl didn't really sing, and those gymnasts aren't really 16).

everyone's looking at our building and i don't know why

there's allegedly a jumper on the roof. stay tuned.


update: after 20 minutes, looks like nothing happened. booooooooooo.

it could happen!

here's TMQ's prediction on Brett as a Jet. Jet fans, you have been warned!

If Favre can retire then nonretire every year, why not every week? Below is a weekly agenda for the Jets' season:

Sunday immediately following game: Favre tells reporters he's "considering" retirement. Says he will come back if all networks agree that cameras will show no player except him.

Monday morning: Favre's agent says client feels "not appreciated" because New York City has not been renamed Brettopolis. Holds tearful farewell news conference, says "I would never go back on my word unless there was something in it for me." Thanks teammates for not coming between him and cameras. Returns to Mississippi.

Monday evening: Hosts vigil in Hattiesburg tent. Tells Oak Grove High School players, "Always be a self-sacrificing team player."

Tuesday morning: Invites hundreds of reporters and cameramen to his farm to see him happily working the land.

Tuesday lunchtime. Tires of working the land.

Wednesday morning. Calls ESPN, New York Times to plant comeback rumor.

Wednesday afternoon. Calls ESPN, New York Times to deny comeback rumor.

Thursday morning. Demands immediate reinstatement. Grants "exclusive" interviews to ESPN, ABC, CBS, NBC, NFLN, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, Fox College Sports/Pacific, CSPAN-2, Planet Green, Oxygen, Toon, Home Preview Channel, HBO Signature HD, SOAPNet, Canal Plus and the MHz4 Nigerian TV Authority. (you forgot the Food Network! - grifter)

Thursday evening. Demands New Jersey annex Delaware and give it to him, also demands USM change its sports nickname to the Golden Fours. United States Senate stages all-night emergency session to debate Favre return.

Friday morning. Congress offers $600 billion bailout if Favre returns. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid explains, "We don't care who gets the bailout, we just like to give away borrowed money. Hey Nancy, they want more. OK, $800 billion."

Friday afternoon. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon flies to Hattiesburg in the space shuttle to accompany Favre on his return to New Jersey. Manhattan casting agency hires hundreds of extras to pretend to be adoring Favre fans at arrival.

Saturday morning. Favre attends walk-through, disabled children allowed to touch his garments. (hwaaaahahahahahaha - grifter)

Sunday morning. All other players' names removed from program in order to print Brett Favre in 72-point type across every page. Governor of New Jersey washes Favre's feet during player introductions. (but he's blind! no wait, that's the New York one! - grifter)

Postgame: Favre hints game may have been his last.

other notes: this thing could have been a lot worse than it should be. he could have thrown this tantrum right before August 8 (stealing the thunder from China - shame on you, Putin!), but the sports calendar has been designed as it is. so instead of gagging so much on Brett, we're being fed a steady diet of Phelps. which is not so bad. but check back with me on that in 10 days.


"it's been a very difficult season for me ..."


"ni hao, xiānshēng Favre Brett!"



by the way, my Madden 09 still hasn't been updated and Chad is still a jet. hmmmm ...

happy Olympic viewing, everyone!

jungle boogie

not having opened iTunes in a long time, doing so today resulted in an installation of Apple's Safari browser. sneaky Jobs.



i do like the Safari in my iPhone but i don't really need a third browser in my office laptop. but then again, it may have its uses. hmmmmm ... (but its still operating within Winblows ... arrghhh).

since they can't read this anyway ...

TIBET! TIBET! TIBET! TIBET! TIBET!

why are the Americans kowtowing to the Chinese? politics and money.

we have a Chinese Mainlander technician onsite now, and he's been adamant about things Japanese, World War II, and their current business practices. i've restrained myself so far about discussing Tibet with him. someone might go postal.

call you crazy

is this really the future? (for my young countrymen, at least)

"outsourcing" and "call centers" became two of the very important catchphrases at the turn of this century. the latter in particular becoming an overnight industry that spread like wildfire over the globe, with the maturation of the Internet and the reduction of (most of) the world to a true global village. and for (still) developing countries like the Philippines and India, who are not lacking in English language skills, putting up call centers and providing local employment has been a lucrative business.

and today's fresh graduates see it both as a potential first job and a fallback option, not to mention a trendy career opportunity. years ago, it was BS Commerce. then it was Computer Science (no disrespect to AMA and STI). now, i'm not sure if teenagers are not dreaming and wishing: "i want to be a call center agent when i grow up!"

i've had more than a passing experience with this, as my sister, whom we have high hopes for, landed a call center job - as her first job (i think). not a knock against the CC people. i'm just saying it seems like its a lifestyle for the desperate. do i really want to reverse my normal daily cycle - sleep by day and work at night? miss proper meals? get pressured by trainers and managers while your job security depended on not passing out? i've seen my sister go through that hell, and applauded when she finally quit that job.

so, in that article above, am i surprised that the Philippines had the worst turnover rate? no. i'm just surprised at the high number.

it was bound to happen anyway. you do too much, too soon, and burnout happens. is the demand really that high? are Americans too lazy already and can't possibly do this themselves? i guess they are ... obesity is a major problem and they don't need more of their people sitting around in cubicles, putting weight, and getting angina from irate debt-ridden fellow citizens. thanks for passing that along to the Third World, fellas.

and what about these standards? speaking English well gets you in the door for an interview, but then you have to pass rigorous testing before you are even deemed worthy of a paltry salary (maybe in two years, you might become team leader ... ooohh, reminds me of the ridiculous officer training in some banks). and who are we helping really? sure, it may put food in some tables, but you can't consistently do that if you're sick, dead or dying now, can you? might still be better off being an OFW, now, but then again, once you think about the corrupt government who's leeching off you ... well, that's another story.

At Convergys, training managers boast to new trainees that only one out of every 100 applicants they interviewed are actually hired. “So, you’re the best, the cream of the crop!" he tells a trainee.

what crop? what cream? are you sure this is cream? looks like sour milk to me.

speaking of Convergys, my sister did apply with them (yes, apparently this whole thing isn't behind her, as well as for a large majority of ex-CC agents, i suppose), and even before a dream came to fruition (a dream that didn't really pay much), majority of their batch-in-training got terminated even before they were officially hired. what a classy organization. do you really want to put "terminated @ my last job" in your CV?

in an effort to "understand" this atrocious turnover rate:

Both ACS and Convergys have “exit interviews" for all call center agents resigning or getting fired, to find out the reasons and causes of the high turnover rate in the industry. A pattern is slowly emerging from these studies—- bad training design, oppressive trainors, too much stress, too much pressure, ‘prison-like’ condition, pay not worth the effort, etc.

well ... DUH. with a capital H.

as much as i'd like my sis to find alternative jobs, one that doesn't include getting harassed, hungry-slash-eating-badly, shafted for minuscule pay, i guess this is the reality over there. far be it for me to tut-tutting, since i'm here (and that's also another story) and they're there, but all i want is for her to find her niche in life (usually happiness comes along with being in that niche).

so, sis ... just persevere, and always think 'stepping stone'. you're still young. the highway of life is still ahead of you. don't worry, you will know when it's time to stay put.

earthquake!

the legend/brat from Green Bay will now be throwing for the Jets.

that's a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.

either way, he'll be selling a lot of jerseys. my question is, will Madden 09 be updated in time?

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update: i guess that is that.