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Others want it hard, others semi-hard. A few have it poached from them. The rest wants the freakin’ cacophony of an omelette. As for me, I want it sunny side up – life, that is.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Inspiration along J. Luna Street



Today, I took a step further to appease my hard-to-please group head by going to Divisoria. By the end of this quarter, we’ll be having our sports programs for employees and we’ll be needing a supplier for the uniforms. So off I went to the land of wholesales and bargains – and not to mention cute Chinese and Korean shop owners – to scout for possible suppliers.

Before going to 168 mall, I have to stop by our Tutuban branch to meet an Area Operations Manager (AOM) who will assist me that day. Knowing fully well that I am not good with geography, said  AOM will be my guide to find the cheapest shirt suppliers possible.

After meeting the branch personnel and the AOM, we exchanged a few words inside the branch.

“Sir pwede kayong ka-partner ni [insert name of our female celebrity endorser] sa pelikula. Mukha kayong artista,” said the branch personnel.

“Ah, hindi naman po siguro.” Pa-tweetums pa ang pohta, sabay whip ng mahabang hair sideways.

Damn right, I said to myself. I never thought of ever going to Divisoria for my work. I am meant to be in an office with a controlled thermostat.

But since I am here, I’m going to scout for a possible Valentines gift for Nix. I know, Valentines is a marketing ploy, but I think it’s sweet to give him something for Valentines. Yihee!

The day could have gone well had it not been terribly, unbearably hot. If I were in the beach, well that could have been good. But hello, I’m in Divisoria. I swear my arms were fried to a toast. Even the inch-thick layer of sun block I used an hour earlier won’t help me with this glaring heat.

And I have to teach those tinderas a thing or two about customer service. Aba eh, parang sila pa ang customer. They all have a signature air of contempt for people inquiring about their wares. One conversation I had with a shopkeeper had me almost pulling her hair.

Nox                              : Ate, magkano isa nito? Referring to a cute backpack.
Bruhildang Tindera     : Wholesale yan.

Ah, okay, I get it Some stuff should be bought by wholesale.

Nox                              : Ah, okay. Ilang piraso kapag wholesale?

Bruhildang Tindera just looked at me like I said something stupid and didn’t answer my question. There were a few awkward seconds and I thought maybe she didn’t hear me because of her sunog-dahil-sa-rebond hair covering her piggy ears. Lady AOM said wholesale meant one dozen.

Is it my fault that it’s my first time to shop alone in Divisoria and not know what wholesale means? Am I not worth to be explained what freaking wholesale means? Fortunately for her, I’m too tired to have a word with the owner of the store. There’s always a next time for revenge. I swear, bitch will die soon.

But that is not the point of this entry. The conversation I had with the lady AOM is worth sharing.

After, getting enough quotations, we headed to have a late lunch. We exchanged a shallow talk about company programs and how long she has been working with the company. Turns out, she’s been with the company for 23 freaking years.

The shallow talk became personal and thought-provoking. She said that it was not her dream when she was young to work in a private organization. She wanted to become a government teacher, and she was for some time. Knowing that she is the first-born and that she will be able to help her siblings better if she’ll have a higher pay, she transferred to our company. And she stayed with the company for 23 years and counting.

Her story made me think about my plans in the future. I don’t want to work for someone forever. I want to have a business for mom and dad. They’re getting older everyday and I know they won’t live forever. I want to give them the best in the world, something they deserve, but I can’t do that with my pay. I just got promoted but still, it ain’t enough.

I love them very much that they’re one of the reasons why I work my ass off everyday freaking day. They have given up so much for me and for my siblings. For sure, they had grand plans in life when they were my age. But I guess they weren’t able to get what they want because they raised us.

Hay, emo.

Well, I am convinced I should put up a business venture in two years time. Problem is, I don’t know what business I should do.

Any ideas? :)



10 comments:

Felipe said...

food business. :) start small.

Desperate Houseboy said...

1)agree ke felipe
2)loading station
3)prostitution (ako una mo ibugaw) ching.

Mwah

Ms. Chuniverse said...

Hahaha! Fotang tindera 'yon ha.

Pareho tayo, i also want to put up my own business. I want something creative or a food business.

Pagod na akey maging aliping saguiguilid.

haaayyyy...

Lone wolf Milch said...

hirap maging employee talaga hayysst kasi mga businessman yumayaman tayo fixed income

c - e - i - b - o - h said...

ako din food business.. bet ko un,, marami kasi sa mga tao pag walang magawa e kakain na lang.. hehehe

Sean said...

agree ako. food business. maski nga sa mall yun yung mabenta. kahit walang biniling bagay yung mga nag-malling, kakain for sure.

Unknown said...

Sama mo kami next time! Every month yata nasa divi kami eh. Kahit nakapikit kabisado na namin. Hahaha.

Ang sosyal mo talaga. =P

NOX said...

@felipe - noted po ito. siguro resto ang business mo teh. hindi pa kasi ako tapos magbackread ng blog mo... cnxa naman :)

@dh - naisip ko din yang prostitution. marami kasing volunteers ko na friends. at in furr, tubong lugaw ito. sabon at condom lang, go na!

@ms chuni - korek ka jan mam. ako nga feeling ko aliping namamahay ako. kulang na lang dito ako sa opis matulog pag may event!

@hard2getxxx - hirap talaga maging empleyado no? todo kayod ka para yumaman ang pamilya ng may-ari ng kumpanya. tse!

@sean - pati si mudakez, food business ang gusto. bet daw nyang mag-catering...

@pipo - anung sosyal dun? maarte, yes. hahaha! and sige, pero ok ba ikaw na lang bumili? ayoko na bumalik dun eh. char!

Marcus said...

haha...loving the bruhilda term for ate tindera.. The understanding is not to shop alone in divisoria without someone who knows how the make tawad with them..hehe..

:0

NOX said...

hi, marcus! yep, don't go to divi alone if you don't know how to haggle :)