my working desk

Just so you know what my corner of the world looks like. See the cobwebs? I really need to clean things up.

Seriously gay. And I love my bookend.

Every year, I have this ritual where I burn sandalwood incense for Jynx’s birthday. Recently, Celine made this nice incense holder for me out of found objects.

Goodbye, CTS

It’s the end of an era.

My old account, the one I used to work in, has been officially given notice by The Client that it’s not renewing the contract for next year. This means over 100 people will have to look for other accounts within the company, or leave altogether.

Part of me is sad, because I was with Batch 1. We were pioneers who built the account from 70 people up to about 300 during its peak. Twice we were hailed as being #1 Technical Support site, the Best of Breed around the world. After I left, the number of people dwindled to almost half of what it once was. The most competent people had left the company, and no one could really blame them. Management sucked. Big time.

The surest way to fail is to neglect your employees, especially if it’s a service-oriented business wherein your employees, or their talents, are basically your product. I’ve been an agent, an RS, and a QA. Although I would have been a shoo-in for a TC position (a manager), I never applied. Too much politics down that path. I’m happy I stayed with the Quality Department during most of my tenure, because I feel like I grew a lot and learned a lot. Plus, I had many, many friends. QA rocks!

I made a comic strip over at the HoyPinoy! webcomic about call center agent stress. Go have a look.

laptop abuse

i fear that the laptop police will come knocking any minute now.

sorry, mr spock. there was too much work to be done that i forgot to let you rest your tired circuit board. i guess they can wait ’til tonight. get some sleep…

my messy workstation and mr spock

This is a pic of the space where I currently work. It’s not this dark but I’m too lazy to Photoshop it right now. I just realized that I bought my laptop a year ago, and I’m pleased to say it never crashed on me or gave me any problems. I used to work for desktop tech support and I’m familiar with every computer failure imaginable, so for me, that’s something. I hope it stays that way for a long long while.

Happy birthday, Mr. Spock!

The joys and hardships of being a freelancer

I’ve been at this for only a few months, and I’m glad things are working out well. From my experience, here’s what I can say:

ADVANTAGES

1. You are the boss of you. No more slave driver/idiotic/incompetent bosses.
2. Your time is in your hands. Work when you need to. Sleep when you can.
3. You don’t need to rush like mad when you hear your alarm clock.
4. You don’t have to brave the pouring rain or heavy traffic.
5. You can work in your bed.
6. More time for your long-forgotten hobbies (and new ones).
7. You can play music or watch TV/DVDs while working.
8. Unlike the office, there’s no firewall in your house. Surf/download ’til you drop.
9. No more office politics and intrigues.
10. You go at your own pace, following your chosen direction.

REALITY CHECK

1. It doesn’t mean less work, just flexibility. Your once 8-hour work day can turn into 12 hours or more.
2. You still rush to meet your client’s deadlines. Some things never change.
3. Before you even decide to go freelance, make sure you’ve saved up for at least 6 months worth of expenses. It’s not a stable job, especially in the beginning, so make sure you can cover for the lean months.
4. You need a lot of self-discipline to get off your lazy butt every morning, or night, depending on your warped bio clock.
5. There can be a lot of distractions that will make you unproductive. You need to be mature enough to handle them.
6. You have to know how to manage yourself, your work, your time, and your money.
7. You have to do everything yourself, from getting clients to inventory to advertising.
8. With no boss to pester you, you have to be extremely motivated to finish your work and succeed.
9. You don’t have the benefits that come with a full-time job (HMO, SSS, etc).
10. If you don’t work, you don’t eat.