Manong George.

Before I became a resident of the boarding house where I am staying now, I was first a visitor. Every once in a while, I dropped by to chat with Jel (who, then, was already residing in the house) or, when life in the college dorm became too much to bear, I dropped by the boarding house to stay there overnight. It was during these visits and overnights that I met Manong George.

I immediately liked Manong George the first time Jel introduced me to him. It was a meeting with a purpose, if I recall correctly. I was looking forward to watching The Amazing Race that night, but since I felt so tired to go back to the dorm, I asked Jel if there was someplace that I could watch the most wonderful reality TV show of all time [sorry, plugging, hee]. Jel told me that he'd ask permission from Manong George, who, as I soon found out, was his next-room neighbor. Manong George easily replied with a "Yes," which was, perhaps, one of the reasons why I immediately liked him.

Upon seeing him in person, though, the reasons multiplied. Manong George was a big guy with an even bigger heart. He spoke like a flower; he walked like a bear. He always seemed at ease with himself. He always seemed content. In fact, there was never a time while I was there that he was upset at anything. I always encountered him with that strange smile of his on his lips.

Manong George was also a fastidiously clean and organized man. His room (which I envy and miss up to this day) showed it. The room, I must tell you guys, did not allow much improvement. But Manong George turned a seemingly hopeless room into a bachelor's pad that matched even the most expensive ones in the nearby Rockwell Tower. It even had a motif: pastel and metal. The combination might sound weird, but aesthetically, it worked. The floor was covered with blue linoleum; on top of that, an expensive-looking gray rug was placed. He had an orange lounge chair facing the TV. The TV itself had a metallic luster to it, as well as the rack on which the TV stood on. His bed, which was always made up, was blue. Pastel to metallic, then back to pastel again. Wonderfulness.

He seemed exactly the type of person I would have no problems being friends with. And indeed, there were no such problems. Even though I didn't live (yet) in the boarding house, he treated me as though I was. It was then unfortunate that when I finally moved in the house, Manong George already left for Cagayan de Oro, the place where San Miguel Corp. transferred him.

But this isn't going to be a sad entry. I thought of Manong George because he texted Jel last week and informed him that there was a possibility that he was going to be transferred back in Manila. Yay! That news filled me with simple joy. And the joy expanded even further when he told us that we're invited in his place overnight and that he would treat us for dinner! More yayness!

It's nice knowing people who are genuinely nice. All this while I had this fear that my "niceness" or, putting it in another light, my "lack of aggressiveness," is going to be the cause of my failure in the workplace. Even though I didn't voice it out or realized it explicitly, "Play fair; be nice" has been my motto for years. But Manong George, who is one of the nicest successful people I know, assuaged that fear. It's okay to be nice. It's okay not to be aggressive. What matters is that you do your best without trying to be nasty to other people in any way. It works. It really works.

Thanks, Manong George.

The joys of travelling by jeep.

In order to stretch the money lent to me by Jel, I've decided to change my morning travel rituals altogether. Before, I used to take this route:

Jeep to MRT station - PhP7.50
MRT station to LRT station - PhP11.00 (either stored value or single trip)
LRT station to UN Avenue - PhP13.00 (if stored value) or PhP15.00 (if single trip)

Travel Time: 45 minutes, more or less
Total (back and forth): PhP63.00 to PhP67.00

Then in going back home, more of the same. The stored value tickets cost PhP100.00 each; technically, therefore, I only pay a lump sum of PhP100.00 once for each train and get my rides "free" after I pay the lump sum. Doing this saves me PhP2.00 per LRT train ride and even more important, saves me the grief of lining up to buy tickets, especially during rush hour.

Now, I take this route:

Jeep to Pedro Gil - PhP10.00
LRT station to UN Avenue - PhP12.00 (either stored value or single trip)

Travel Time: 40 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, depending on the traffic
Total (back and forth): PhP53.50 to PhP55.50

In going back home, I use my old route. As you can see, it's definitely cheaper to use my new route. However, the inconvenience of buying MRT tickets during the afternoon (as I cannot afford to buy an MRT stored value ticket) and the inconvenience of walking from Pedro Gil to the LRT station take away most of the convenience of using the new route. Unfortunately, convenience is not a priority given my situation right now; cheapness is. So there. I just have to suck it up, I guess.

Being broke sucks.

Broke and independent.

I'm broke. My salary's gone kaput. At first, it seemed inevitable that I will have to survive on 3 canned goods (2 corned beef and 1 can of sardines) and a box of SkyFlakes crackers for the next 9 days. Thank God I have an understanding roommate who lent me some cash to use for the time being.

So what happened to my salary? According to my Salary Expenses Excel file [how geekoid, hee], I've overspent on internet. The budget I allotted for internet is, well, ZERO, but I spent almost 1,500 pesos on it. And the month isn't over yet! And I'm in an internet cafe right now blogging! Sheesh. When will I ever learn.

Aside from my inability to refrain from surfing the Net, and aside from inability to patronize cheap but cramped 20-peso internet cafes with no XP OS's and no 1028x768 resolutions, I blame PLDT for the financial disaster I'm currently experiencing. Despite our persistent calls asking them to connect a phone line in our room so that we may be able to access their PLDT Vibe 440 promo (that's over 1,000 pesos in savings, come to think of it), they just wouldn't do it for the simple reason that our landlady failed to pay a huge amount of telephone bills at a distant time in the past-- perhaps way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and spore-producing plants dominated the land.

"The house is blacklisted," so they say.

"But the room isn't blacklisted," so we say.

"We can't be assured that you won't leave the boarding house and leave the bills with your landlady, who, of course, wouldn't pay your bills." Good point, but not that good.

"Then pray tell, Mr. PLDT Man, why do our next-room neighbors have an authentic PLDT line connected in their room?"

"Nakalusot lang po siguro sila."

What the *^%&!?!? Damn you, PLDT.

I've already called Globelines, but there is a strong possibility that there aren't any Globelines connections here in our street. That leaves us with BayanTel. BayanTel is my only hope of preventing another 1,500-peso financial loss next month. I can't afford a loss, especially next month. Jel and I are planning to buy a small TV to accommodate me during my lonely, lonely weekend nights. So a loss is out of the picture.

That reminds me, I should be heading home right now. I've spent-- what? an hour? an hour and a half?-- in this cramped, 20-peso-an-hour, non-airconditioned internet cafe already. At least it has an XP OS and a 1028x768 resolution.

Or will he have... a change of heart?

Do you know that show in the ETC channel? The one where couples at the crossroads of their relationship date other people to see if they're compatible with them? Yes, that stupid show hosted by Chris Jagger and goes by the name of "Change of Heart"? I may be having precisely that: a change of heart.

First of all, this is no romantic matter. I'd like to make that clear at the onset to prevent any misunderstandings. But even though it's career-oriented (gasp) rather than love-oriented, it doesn't make thinking about it any easier.

I've written a little bit about sales work in my entry yesterday. I've written about the loneliness that threatened to make sales a less enjoyable experience, and I've written about the enlightenment of stomach and mind that exorcised that threat. What I failed to write about was while all these were happening, an idea was slowly forming inside my fickle head. "What if I went into sales?"

Two things prompted that disturbing little idea to surface in my head. One: I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with my bosses. While driving to Caloocan and waiting for the agents to arrive, we had conversations which I found to be delightful. I don't know what made these conversations delightful; perhaps I connected with them on a more personal level than I would have otherwise allowed myself to expect.

Two: I found sales work the most engaging and the most personal of all the work I've encountered so far. The documents I typed, the statistics I computed, the papers I studied-- all these had direct effects on actual people. People whose careers and lives depended on what the documents, statistics, and papers had to say. Agents. Agents with children to feed. Agents with children to educate.

Of course, it's too early to tell. This may just be a simple case of temporary sympathy that will fade as soon as I finish with sales. Nonetheless, a great foundation has been shaken. I've always thought that both my heart and mind leaned towards an actuarial career, after all. At this point, my mind will just have to wrestle with this possibility: if I continue to enjoy the company of my superiors and the work of an AC, my mind may remain with actuarial, but my heart will belong with sales.

That's going to be a some dilemma, all right.

That's going to be some change of heart.

A little re-introduction.

Hi, I am Kerwin Ray Escape Sentillas. I'm sure you've known a little bit of me through my posts and through the tidbits I write on the right side of my blog, but I think a little re-introduction will be good at this time. I've gone out of circulation for so long that I myself have forgotten the face of my blog. I realize that this 'refreshing' of sorts is more for myself than for anyone else, to reacquaint myself with the joys of blogging, but I thank those who appreciate the make-over effort. You guys bring sunshine into my life. Wee!

I just turned 21 a few days back. I'd like to thank everyone who greeted me during that time; as everyone may know, 21 is a guy's debut, and is therefore very special. Anyone who contributed into my happiness that day by acknowledging the importance of my birthday by texting or calling or talking to me will be hereby rewarded good karma for the rest of August. Special thanks to Jel for waking me up at midnight to remind me that I'm 21. More special thanks to him for buying ice cream and donuts for the celebration. Good karma all around.

I held no party during that day, although my fellow MA's suggested a topless party or a bikini party, albeit jokingly. Jokingly, I said, so no, the topless/bikini party did not happen. What did happen is a movie celebration (Bewitched) and a luncheon at Chef d' Angelo's with the very lovely Tsikee Lu (Tsik Tsik Tsik Tsik), who I missed very much. What did happen is a dinner at Pizza Hut with a few of my blockmates, who I also missed hanging out with. As you can see, my 21st birthday is pleasant all around.

The days leading to my birthday were not so pleasant, however. More specifically, the last week leading to my birthday. During that time, I was with the Actuarial Department of PhilamLife, doing a comprehensive study. During that time, I was depressed. During that time, I cried hard every morning before going to work.

Looking back, I realize that perhaps I was too hard on myself. I felt the urge to exert more effort into the project because I was afraid that Actuarial wouldn't hire me unless I do very well. I felt myself sinking into desperation as each day passed, getting more and more nervous as the dry run and actual presentation dates approached, seeing that I wasn't done with my project just as yet. If not for Jel, who comforted me the best way he can, and Sam, who listened to me while I talked about my apprehensions, and the MA's, who unknowingly made me happy in their own little ways, I would have become catatonic by now. Perhaps it is needless to say that everything went well after that, and, yes, the Actuarial Department decided they would hire me. The issue now is whether they could hire me during the crucial time, but that's another story to be told another time.

Now, I'm in the Sales Department. At first, loneliness began to set in, primarily because all the MA's were scattered to different sectors of Metro Manila, and I was the only one who was assigned to the West Sector in UN. Not seeing those girls had its depressing effect. Fortunately, my bosses gave me interesting work to do, and there were so many places to go, so these kept my mind off the loneliness. Today, for instance, the whole West Sector Sales Management Team (as this is what our team is called), went to an Eat-All-You-Can Cabalen merienda treat for productive agents. It was both filling and enlightening. Filling, because the food was simply sumptuous. Enlightening, because I finally understood the plight of agents. Seeing them in a personal way made me realize that being an agent is not easy. I have to commend them for their guts, for their determination, and for their skill. I can't express it well enough, so I'll just say it again: Being an agent is not easy.

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Well, I think I've effectively re-introduced myself to myself (and to the readers who care, hee), so I'll stop here now. I'm enjoying blogging once again, and even though I am dead broke right now and can't pay for another hour of internet cafe time, the statement I wrote in the last entry still holds: it's going to be a blogging spree from here on out, so prepare for more. How am I going to do that without a single centavo in my name? Well, destiny has ways that man cannot fathom.

'Til next time.

Just a little bit more...

Just a little more tweaks here and there and I'll be done with remodelling my blog. After that, it's going to be one hell of a blog entry spree!

This is it for now, though. I'll reserve every little issue, comment, observation, analysis, inference, and message the next time I post. It's not going to take long. God knows I've sacrificed enough time for work to delay blogging any longer. My hands are itching...! But it must wait.

'Til next time, folks. 'Til next time.