In Between

I just realized that I had so much fun times in my academic in-between. I define academic in-between as the time when I was out of school, dedicating almost entirely my then pure and innocent life to the call center world. Rough times, most especially in financial terms, pushed me to peg my sanity away to earn the money, donning headsets and frying my eyes thanks to my everyday encounters with the computer monitor. I thought I'd left the world of fake accents and everyday fastfood lunch as soon as I went back to school-- but I'm still here, and I'm more than thankful to have this job as it helps me fend for my school expenses.

I can still recall my first successful application stint. I got a job as a Sales Rep in Telus (it was called Ambergris in the good old days) and I was excited like hell. The pay was not bad for a guy who just landed his first job, knowing that a boy typical of my age back then resorts to applying in fastfood chains and coffee shops. I met a wonderful team of call center neophytes whom I all quickly become good friends with. On our first payday, we decided to go to Cubao to celebrate this important chapter of our lives. I can still remember how happy I was when I bought my learning-Latin book from National Bookstore with my first hard-earned salary.

I have to admit that I applied on several centers before I got hired in Ambergris, but when you already have even a bit of experience working in one, it won't be hard for you to land another. After 4 months, I decided to move to TeleTech Cainta, which is closer to our house.

The batch I was with is full of first-timers too, but I didn't tell them that I know a few know-hows in the industry. So I treated myself as one of them novices too, anyway it was a brand new role as a Technical Support Rep in an equally brand new workplace. Within my year-and-a-half stay in this company, I met some of the awesomest people on Earth. I developed some sort of attachment to the company that tears welled up in my eyes the moment I was bidding my teammates farewell. That's when it hit me: in this kind of business people come and go, and it happens so damn fast.

The next call center I worked in attracted probably the best apples from different BPO orchards. 24/7 Customer offered a very generous compensation package, that's why I decided to transfer. I was humbled when I learned about the work experience the people in my batch have-- in here, everyone's an expert and highly technically-knowledgeable. Despite the attractive pay, I resigned after 6 months and decided not to work in a call center anymore-- the nature of the job was so stressful that I had bad cases of tonsillopharyngitis every once in a while.

Luckily, I was hired as a Financial Voice Writer/Editor at McGraw-Hill. I was informed that the job would start no sooner than 2 months, so for the mean time I worked in another BPO company as an E-mail support agent at LWS Media. The pay was surprisingly high compared to other centers, but I didn't take the job seriously despite the stress-free environment. After more than a month, I went off to train as a voice writer.

I came to a point where I decided to settle down with the job as it paid pretty well and I was a part of wonderful team. But Fate is a playful element, and I eventually learned that that year was my last chance to enroll in school. Otherwise, PUP won't accept me back in EVER. So I had to give up the wonderful opportunity to go back to school.

And here I am, albeit I almost cursed this type of job. I'm working alongside a team of cool and wonderful people and they make a year of monotony bearable. But in more or less a month from now, I will finally have to lay my headset to rest. And the good old refillable plastic binder that I use in school for 2 years. Did I have any regrets? Not a bit. Noticed that I used the word "wonderful" a couple of times?

Sa loob ng mahigit-kumulang tatlong taon na tumigil ako sa pag-aaral, dito ko nakilala ang mga taong tatatak sa puso't isip ko. Wala akong pinagsisihan, ni-gapatak. Naging masaya ako at mas naging mature at responsableng tao dahil sa mga taong nakilala ko sa aking in-between. Kaya sa inyong lahat na nakilala ko sa aking in-between, maraming salamat sa lahat ng suporta at encouragement na nanggaling sa inyo para ipagpatuloy ko ang aking pag-aaral.

I'll save my thank-you graduation speech for next year ;)