ever since last week, my schedule at work has been busy to say the least.  i was thrust into the thick of things by attending meetings here and there, both in the confines of my office or at other sites.  i was introduced to the different people i’ll be constantly talking and working with, not to mention the different areas i’ll be handling.  yup, you read it right.  areas.  well, they’re worded as such because even though they’re under the same department and perform the same functions, they’re basically physically apart from each other.  and when i mean physically apart, i do mean exactly that.  you see, before i got here, the company already has one in-house call center and three outsourced centers.  and i’m the lucky bastard who’ll be handling the three outsourced ones.  one located in makati, another one in libis, and the third one in ortigas.  also last week, i got to visit the makati site, met with their management team and laid out the plans i wanted to see and happen based on their current performance.  i mentioned on a previous entry that my boss has given me full authority to tweak or make changes to how operations are being run on all three sites and i’m doing exactly that.  i’m making changes not because my current boss wants me to, unlike my previous boss who just makes decisions just because his boss says so, but based on how i think the organization has to be run using the experiences i have had working with two outsourcing centers and one in-house center.  on thursday, i’ll be meeting with the center in ortigas and will do the same thing.  if i see something that can be used as an opportunity to improve, i won’t hesitate to let it be known.  after all, i’m now representing their client.

if you think my work sounds easy, i’m telling you right now, it ain’t.  being in different places two or three times a day is no picnic.  even though i have a car and driver sponsored by the company at my disposal, going to and from a certain destination in manila traffic is hardly a walk in the park.  not to mention having a different mindset in each of the different areas i’m handling can get confusing at times.  but i’m not complaining.  with the support being thrown behind me and every company resource at my disposal, this is one job i’m really happy to be having.

it’s also nice living the normal life after working graveyard for the past seven years.  long holiday weekends will now be the norm for me, and this past weekend was just one of them.  our department’s summer outing was held two days ago at club manila east and i had a blast getting to know the people i’m working with outside the office.  i got myself a tan (would you believe according to my colleagues, it suits me nicely) from swimming and both my shoulders are still a little sore with sunburn.  i took very few pictures with the camera i brought along, but good thing my colleagues went picture crazy and i’m still waiting for the pictures to be uploaded and sent to me at the office (did i mention that flash drives are allowed at the office as well as mobile phones?  a far cry from the security paranoia of my previous companies).  expect those to be posted on my friendster account soon.

well, that wraps up my update for this entry.  i have another meeting tomorrow morning with some head honchos of the different support groups of my department.   for those wanting to get in touch with me at my office, a little more patience please.  the phone lines at my station are not yet working.  but once they’re up, i’ll be requesting the supply of my business cards and i’ll be handing them out once those are done.  the next long weekend will be in three weeks time and how i’m looking forward to that!  enjoy the rest of the week!