TALES FROM THE CRYPT OFFICE

COFFEE CAT

Shucks. I feel a bit disoriented today. I downed a couple of cups of coffee – one tumbler of Maxwell Iced Coffee at work (my new daily work habit :( ), then another 2 small cups of not-so-instant coffee in Glorietta. When I was on my home, I passed by an exhibit of some independent local coffee producers, and each exhibitor had stalls offering free coffee taste. I drank two cups from two different stalls, and bought a bag of grounded coffee (for my uncle-wala lang, naisip ko lang) at the first stall.

I WILL NOT DRINK COFFEE TOMORROW. Promise. Not only does it give me unnecessary caffeine rush, it also stains the teeth. I read somewhere that it would take around Php 20,000 just to have a set of teeth whitened through laser. Gosh. :P


FREE AS A BIRD

My boss didn’t come to work today! Yay! Hehe, not that I have anything against my boss…. but honestly, every day I spend with him gives me a bruise to my already battered ego. I always feel stupid whenever I talk to him, without fail. Could it be he’s such a smart guy (who happens to be dripping with sarcasm)? Or I’m such a dunce? Or I let my stupid (and maybe not-so-stupid) hirits get to me?

In fairness, I’d rather be working for someone who knows his stuff than someone who’s not. Hay. I used to think all the seniors in the office are like that – yun bang kapag tinanong mo palaging may sagot? But I have encountered one architect who does not seem to have a ready answer for some questions. (Haha, pareho kaming clueless.) Although I’m relieved that there was one senior in there who seems human, it must be disconcerting if all the seniors were like that.

Anyway, my boss was out today, so I was left alone with the door hardware schedule and specifications for one of our projects. I spent the bulk of my time today looking for the brochures of all the finish hardware indicated in the specs, then checking whether the specs and the schedule match. In fairness, may natututunan naman ako - konti na lang pwede na po akong magbenta ng door hardware.

*Bow.*


PAYING MY DUES

Today was one of those rare days I felt less of an apprentice. I actually felt in control with what I’m doing, and I was happy that I could breathe more deeply in going about my work.

*sighs deeply*

But shucks, hanggang kelan kaya itong apprenticeship feeling na ito? What a crazy feeling – I am always in an alternating state of happiness/sadness. Happy because there’s always a nice rush of feeling that flows inside whenever I learn something new, but sad because I know I have eons more to go. And people treat you like a blank slate...and you feel like one…:( Door hardware pa lang, dang, bokya na ako. No wonder it has its own division. Paano pa kaya iba?

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened to me if ever I worked for another firm, or at least assume another job within the firm I work for. A more “exciting” job like doing 3D models or something? Masyado ba akong nagpapaka-martir sa trabaho kong ito – forsaking everything for knowledge? (And yeah, ka-OC-han.) I’m not even sure whether the things I’ve been learning at work are worth it.

Hay.

RESOLUTION

Yesterday, I went home frustrated because I couldn’t seem to speak to my boss without stuttering/eating up my words. And recalling what Sir Silvestre had said to us people back in thesis year, palagi kaming gumagawa ng tirang takot -- I think that’s what I’ve been doing for the past couple of months I’ve been working in that firm.

Tomorrow will be another day, and most likely my boss will be back on his feet. I’ve made a couple of resolutions. And I plan to stick to it.

I will exhaust every possible source of information before coming to him.

I will eliminate the phrases “I guess…”, “Sa tingin ko…”, “basta…”, “kunyari…” whenever I would talk to him.

I will look at my boss straight in the eye.

I will be sure and forceful with the way I talk. No more timid, whimpering, clueless me.