Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Fake it 'til You make it

I survived my first two years at work. I hope I didn’t screw up. Last year,we were given evaluation sheets for us to evaluate our co-workers and it’s pretty bothering me how’d I fare in their judgment. I know, I’ve been inconsistent at work last year and I’m sort of freaking out for the results. It’s too late to turn back time and become an outstanding employee, but not too late for next year! Evaluations like this is the only way to measure an employee’s performance objectively.  I wonder how they do the measuring thing by computing points from the boxes you’ve checked. Nevertheless, what’s clear in here is that, the results will be the basis of your current year’s salary and workload (salary raise? promotion? or demotion?).
 
If you want to have impressive evaluation from your co-workers, take the following points that you need to work on ,or if you’ve got the points already, then it’s time you try harder in maintaining them.

^ be prompt. It’s good to be early but what really counts is that you’re on time. It’s no use to come to work very early on some days and come in late the rest of the days.

^ be present always. Or should you call in absent, it should be for a valid reason . (so don’t go calling your boss that you’d be absent just because you woke up late…it’s better you don’t give reasons at all if you feel that you’re just being lazy for the day)

^provide a fast but correct output. What is an on time report if the values are wrong and on the other hand, what is error free report when it’s no longer needed? So you see? You got to manage your time wisely. If you think you’re a slow paced worker, then you start way ahead of time. You’ll get better in time.

^As much as possible, do not put off tomorrow what you can finish today.

^Do not refuse additional tasks that are given from time to time. Especially when you got the time to spare and when it’s in line with your field of work. Tasks given from time to time are like training sessions given to you (if ever you get a promotion or a new assignment)

^Show off some other skills. Trouble shooting is a good one.  Explore the endless things you can possibly do with an excel sheet or what you can do with used staple wires.

^Say thank you and Please.

^be cordially friendly...and know what the word 'cordially' means

^Work and think for the company. Whatever your reasons are for working, remember that the company is paying you money that you are using for your other activities in life. If you want those activities (like living) to continue then you should strive to keep the company alive and growing.

^in the most shortest possible phrase “you got to be passionate about your work and all else will follow”

(when you’re fired up with working, you come to work on time, perform well and the rest of what I cited above will become natural that you won’t have to force yourself to do great at work) .

I’ll always believe that checklists and checked boxes are not that reliable, for we don’t really know what a person got and has to give until we work with them. But then ,if companies go with the “try to hire and fire later” trial and error process ,’twill take them time and money, so let’s better satisfy what’s on the checklist eh? Saves time,money and energy…for both parties. Whether you want to keep the job(obviously) or not (really?), always strive to leave a lasting good, if not great impression. 

....and when you come to the point where you seem to perform poorly at work, remind yourself why you're working in the first place.

These are my realizations in my duration at work, and it's so hard to fake things because eventually you'll find you can't make it. And so,I hope you'd learn from my short experience and do things right the first time..because it pays off in time.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Montegelo Farm at Obrero's Place

Welcome to Montegelo Farm!

Montegelo farm is less than an hour ride away from Cagayan de oro City. It is situated at Brgy. San Miguel, Manolo Fortich Bukidnon. We just had our retreat there and finally I came to see what's within this Obrero's Place. It is a place you'd want to go to when you need an escape from the noise in the city (alone or with friends and families). 

This place is great for retreats,debuts,weddings,pre nups, parties or a hideaway. *yay! Since I was on a retreat, I wasn't able to take pictures of everything this place has to offer...but then,it's good to leave something for you to look forward to. *winks

Believe me, these pictures haven't captured fully what I saw in this place. 










All photos are mine (point and shoot) and unedited.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

The Phlegmatic on retreat took a leap

Last January 30-31 I joined the senior’s retreat. Joining was unplanned because all I wanted was an escape from the usual environment in work and in school. I just used the excuse that my name was included in the list for the retreat. ooops!


I was surprised when I found out that Montegelo Farm is located at Obrero Farm. A place that I was always curious of every time I pass on that high road going to my hometown. The place made me miss home that I wanted to stay a little longer. There are trees everywhere,birds chirping on an early morn and the flowing river that gave the perfect environment of calmness and constancy.

The event being a retreat, I hoped that I’d get to sleep with my closer acquaintances and that I wished none of them would be joining the same group I’m into.  I was so happy that all of my group mates were new faces that made me more comfortable in sharing my story and gave me the chance to meet new found friends. 

As a retreat, I thought it would be composed more of a “me” time. Of talking and listening to myself and to hear more of what God is trying to tell me which I might be ignoring in the hustle and bustle of my daily life in the city. But what happened was different, we were always in a circled group, and God was talking to me through the shared stories of my friends. I was listening intently to their stories and at the same time I was struggling within resisting the urge to cry and take up somebody else’s time to share. With a poker face and occasional big nods on every nerve hit, I realized that I had a better life and that I must be thankful to the kind of life I had and having. Life had been less cruel to me and I’ve been taking a good life for granted.

Sharing a heartbreaking story while crying and laughing at it at the same time was an act of breaking free, a silent permission to never letting the bad things tie us up into moping and hating forever. They’ve been survivors in life, and they’d shown to me again and again that bad times do come but surely it’s not going to stay forever. It is so funny to think that those people who went through so many hardships in life are the ones who laugh more.

I was a Phlegmatic on retreat; I was silently watching their lives and learning from it. They fueled my desire to strive for an ideal kind of life. To resist the given judgments and prove to people that we can do/be better and that we are destined for the same greatness in any way. It was also a relief to know that, with my personality, I am just as normal as everybody else. It has always been a daily struggle for me when I keep comparing myself to someone (a person whom I think is normal) and trying to find how can I become a normal one. Yes,I am aware that we are all different,but meeting people with the same personality as I am was comforting. Conversing in the same level has never been that good.  You won’t worry whether the other person finds you boring and weird. You give very big nods because you can relate to them.

We were given the chance to unload whatever is weighing our hearts down and that made room for more good things to come.
On that retreat, I can hear God whispering to me:

 “see? You are created with inborn greatness and goodness. Life is made fair, good things will come and if it’s turn for bad things to come, I will light the right path, just keep your eyes opened and walk by faith. Do not resist the change and the challenges, for the things you’re praying for will come in My perfect time.”---and I was having goosebumps allover.

I am forever hopeful, ever patient in waiting, but I think God wouldn’t want me to stagnate myself waiting for His time. I believe He wants me to live each day as preparation. Each moment will serve as a step on a journey He prepared for me. I was always wonderin’ and worried about my future, after that retreat, I was given a certain peace. “Why worry? If you are giving your best and if you are striving to live a good life, why worry?”

And so, I left Montegelo Farm with friends and brought with me not pineapples but a renewed determination to continue striving in living a good life and become a better phlegmatic (by that I mean lesser weak points in personality) or maybe break free from being a phlegmatic and become more outspoken, outgoing and genuinely confident. After all, we are called to make manifest the greatness of God’s creation.