Antel Grand Village Clubhouse

January 17, 2012 - My cousin's family from father side decided to go somewhere to have some bonding moments with them since they're going back to Australia on January 19, 2012 once again, and will not be seeing them fro 1-2 years again. So the Ramirez family merged with Calazan family on that day. We went to Antel Grand Village Clubhouse located between Kawit Cavite and Gen. Trias Cavite. At first we were in doubt of the place, and because we had a bad experience in Boracay of Cavite, but since Ramirez family suggested it, they think it would be good to give it a try.

The day came and wow. We were shocked! The place was amazingly beautiful and sooooo clean! It is only open for members on weekdays and entrance fee was Php 75.00 since Ate Sherlet was a member. The only thing that's not good with the place is that there are a lot of prohibited things, like:

No alcoholic beverages (of course that's ok)

No peeing (of course that's part of the cleanliness)

No diving, no horseplaying (haha!)

You cant wear cottons... (this is the only thing I don't like)

I hate the part where you cant wear cotton shorts or cotton sando, the caretakers would go near you and ask you to remove the cotton thing on you. They said it's because of the fibers of cotton that makes the pool dirty or unclear. There is also a man made Beach Pool which we all love! There are a total of 5 Pools:

Bar Pool - where there's a seat and you can order drinks while in the pool

Kiddie Pool - is beside Bar pool; 2 feet high, there's a bubbly thing on the other end. It's like a massage pool.

Beach Pool - which reminds me of Splash Island's beach pool. Has small white pebbles as sand. and has 2    slides.

Lap Pool - it has sunbathing seats submerged in the pool where you can relax in the water.

Spa Pool - it has beds beside and fountain which you can put your back and it feels like a massage.

The Shower Room? Ah! It was great!I just didn't get the chance to take a photo of it! It is the cleanest of the cleanest Shower room I ever saw! The janitor even asks us to wash our feet before going inside. It was the cleanest Shower room I ever encountered in my whole life! There's also locker rooms where you can put your things. The place was so relaxing and if you're really up to some fun, this is the place!

You can check out their website http://www.antelclubhouse.com/ for more information.

Monster Designer

Have you ever felt being discriminated in a mall for checking out expensive clothes? Have you ever encountered a salesperson making you feel like you can't buy the product at all and end up buying it because of this rude salesperson? Well, I have a lot of experience like that in the Philippines, my own country. I went to some of the top brands in the mall, and sales ladies were not entertaining you at all and it's as if you're a ghost. Not just in boutiques but this "Monster Designer" I'm talking about is no other than, I will name him, "Ramon Santiago". He is a "famous" designer in Imus, Cavite. I called him, traveled all the way from Makati. I have this gown in mind that I want to wear on my cousin's debut party. The person I know who can make this didn't accept the job since it's around 15 days before the big day. So my cousins decided to treat me and have a designer make this gown. I decided to go to Ramon Santiago since I know he will give you a low price to a high quality gown. He was the one who sew my huge gown when I turned 18. He gave me a discounted price for 3 gowns. So I thought he will do it again.

All the way from Makati to Imus, I called him before going there, he said I should come at his office so he can check out the design. We traveled around 2 hours, everyone was already tired. And when we got there, it's a major disappointment! He quoted a price of "Php 7,000" for that very simple design I had (the design by the way is what SNSD's Jessica wore on MV The Boys). He... She.... It was soooo rude! He even told me that "Sa totoo lang kung sa wedding, kung pa-isa isang ganto, di ko na pinapansin eh" and I asked for another discount, I didn't told him that he sew my gown back then, I pretended that I am a friend of ... well, mine. And he told me, "Wag ka na mag-insist". We were so mad! His place was like a garbage anyway! It was like a huge trash can smelling like gay eating white protein! I even got allergies on his place because it's so dirty, it smells dirty!

So I would suggest if you're planning to go to him, DON'T EVER TRY! If you want a better gown at a lower price, it would be best to have Paul Mateo, just beside Ramon's place. He is so nice and a really good designer! He will draw the gown that will fit you and you will be attracted with how nice he is. So you wouldn't go anywhere else. Paul Mateo's price for my cousin's 3 bongga gowns was Php 50,000. It was so bongga so no comment about that. He also designed the gown of my cousins' girlfriends for only Php 5,000. So just go to Paul Mateo if you don't want to be discriminated.

Men at Work

Men at Work is bar and restaurant just beside the Mom and Dad Massage Spa. After my cousin, Sharmy treated us to a relaxing foot spa, we headed straight on this restaurant. My cousin, Toper was really enthusiastic about the place because of the unique vibe. It's like you're living in old times. Here are some of the pictures of how the place looks like :

It looks like a province o old Philippines at the time of Rizal. There are great food in their menu but these are the food we chose: 


PORK SISIG which is so crunchy and tasty! I think it would be much better if they put more mayonnaise and chili on it. 

JAVA RICE

TAPA

 DYNAMITE (crunchy chili peppers stuffed with cheese)

GIOVANNI CARBONARA

MELANI MINDED (alcoholic beverage; gin with pineapple juice I think)

These are the food we ordered, (there's no picture for cheesestick Sharmy ordered). The people are so accommodating and I feel like a real Pinoy with this ambiance. The place is relaxing, it's open so there's fresh air. There's even a live acoustic band, my cousin and I went to jam with the guy. This is the platform where they get to perform:

Im getting really tired now of posting this blog (hehe) but I've got to finish this. Ok, I must stay that ...


Ambiance: ★★★★★
Food: ★★★★


It' s good place for barkada's who love to drink and chill. The place is kinda off, you have to have a car to get there but it is a really good place to relax and enjoy the live music.

Mom and Dad Massage Spa

Ok, I know the name is kinda weird... Mom... Dad... Whatever! It's a spa located along Daang Hari, right in front of Meadows Village gate. My balikbayan cousin is looking for a spa to relax and well, get a Foot Spa. My other cousin, suggested this place. We weren't sure about it at first because it's like a very isolated place and it might be expensive, but still we check out this place. We checked out the price, she said she was ok with it, then proceed with Foot Spa. She even treated me and her brother's girlfriend, which is very much rare for her attitude. :) (peace cousin!) It was Php 280.00 plus foot reflex (foot massage) for 45 minutes. We had a lil chat with one of the ates, and shocked to find out that it's a lot cheaper than any other spa. 


Ambiance: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 
Price: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Services: ★ ★ ★ ★ 


These are the services they offer:


THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE: you can choose from7 kinds of massage; Swedish, Shiatsu, Sauna etc. Price ranges from 760.00 - 380.00
BODY SCRUB: 580.00 - 480.00
FOOT CARE: Foot Spa 280.00, Foot massage is just 180.00/30 minutes.


It was really relaxing, and the place is very peaceful. I highly recommend you guys to try and check out Mom and Dad Massage Spa.


For more inquiries, you can call or text 0947 5160565 or 09228339096


And they have an ongoing promotion right now, all massage services has 25% off! There's still no definite time on when will the promotion end. So I suggest go hurry and pamper yourself. You deserve it!

Call Center Part 3 : What It Did To Me?

Well, crazy as it may seem but I studied my body’s reaction towards the work that I’m having. I am currently working in a call center, but decided (100% DECIDED), that I’m going to file my resignation on December, once I get the bonus. I’ve been waiting for this moment (the resignation part) to come, YEY!! Anyway, I’ve been with a call center for a while, around 8 months, but along my way towards the finish line, I’ve encountered some problems with me, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Physically, a lot of changes happened to me. And the worst experience I had just now, November 8, 2011 made me decide to write this blog. I’ve been in the CR for 46 minutes trying to clean up dirt from my digestive system (if you know what I mean) LOL, I shouldn’t be talking about this but never mind, I’m a frank, crazy blogger anyway. I was constipated and can’t do what I have to do. I was already shouting for my mom. That was really scary. Good thing there’s no bleeding or such. Melo, a good friend of mine was also hospitalized because of this. Well, hemorrhoid it is! She had her operation last September, 2011 and of course we are prone to that due to prolonged sitting. I also noticed that my allergy rhinitis became worse; I have sudden break outs now which I wouldn’t normally have. And, my body became really weak! If I’m not doing anything, I fall asleep wherever I am. Even on my way home, my head was banging on the sides of the jeepney because of extreme sleepiness. I think we call that hypersomnia, totally opposite of insomnia. I am extremely, tremendously, sleepy! There was also a time when my left ear hurt a lot, I couldn’t take in calls! I have my mom checked it. She said my ear was swollen. I didn’t go to the doctor; I’m scared of what she’ll do to me so I just rest and after 3 days of being absent, it was gone. And when I go back to work, there it goes again. Little by little! In addition to that, I suddenly get dizzy. It feels like vertigo. Eye bags never disappears, pimple is way more than before, stiff neck, and ulcers and much more!

I’m saying spiritually also because, instead of going to church, I just fell asleep all day! When I woke up, I’ll have to eat and sleep again. So I see to it that I pray everyday.

Emotionally, because some TL’s would shout at you, leaving you feeling small and stupid. I want to shout “Hey! I didn’t study for 4 years just to be shouted by you who didn’t graduate at all. I should be the one stepping on you since I received better education than you!” I was scolded once or twice because I was sitting with my feet on the chair because I’m really having an extremely bad period that time. She said she would give me a disciplinary action “Insubordination”. Yeah, witch! You know who you are and I’m going to file an Incident report to what you’ve done. Wait for the revenge that will be served cold. I’m also hearing agents call TL’s’ “Boss”. This was the day I realized that I can’t work with a boss. I am my own Boss. So I think business is better for me, for my attitude. Well, I admit I have some kind of an attitude. But I really don’t want to call others, “Boss”. It’s so hard for me! (Sorry to my TL J)

Mentally. I am mentally tired of the job. People think, we’re just sitting there and what’s so hard with that? That’s why on Chapter 1 of this blog, I posted the nature of work so you would understand. It’s not about sitting at all! You have to fight (like a lawyer, they should hire lawyer, yeah, that’s what one my colleagues said) for what is wrong! I am mentally tired of thinking “I don’t want to go to work anymore” and dragging myself to work, crying before the shift. I don’t want to do it anymore.

I realized a lot of things on my stay with the company. Well, I want to thank them for giving me the opportunity to discover that life isn’t what I thought about when I was young and wanting to work and I want to be proud of myself for being able to stay that long and taking the hardships. I will find a job that will make me happy. They said, if you love your job, you’ll never work in your life. That’s what I’m looking for now. I probably would make a blog about that also: The Search for Real Happiness (Money Matters). This is my advice to you who’s reading this; Search for the thing that you really love the most, and work your way in! Find a job that you love.

Call Center Part 2 : Pros and Cons

Of course I wouldn’t just put here “CONS OF BEING A CALL CENTER AGENT”; there are good points in it. First of all, you get to speak English all the time which will train you for the future! Second, very good compensation and benefits awaits you here. There was a time when me and my friend only worked for 3 days but did get more than what we expect. What else? It’s hard to think of the pros… I spent a lot of time on the “pros” side. By the way, I was supposed to be sleeping now; I just got out from work and decided to finish this blog before I go to sleep. 

Ok, let’s go to the cons. You will get sick! I’m not cursing you, but I’m telling you, if you’re body is naturally strong, you will eventually give up and become weak. Your body itself will tell you that it can’t function anymore. There’s an increase risk of laryngopharyngitis, colds, fever, viral and/or bacterial illness, emphysema (due to 98% population of smokers) or any disease that’s related to lungs, brain cancer, constipation, and a lot more! Name it; you’ll surely have it on a call center. And eye bags; yeah! Even if you put on milk, tea bag, cucumber, eye cream, it WON’T work, trust me. (Tell me if there’s something that worked for you!). You will be physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually challenged (J). You don’t have a social life! You can’t even have fun at night! Can’t go to clubs, bar and eat out with friends! Even if you have 2 days off, you still won’t have time because 2 days isn’t enough for sleeping.

Bad thing about call center is the people around you; a lot of them are nice, but most of them are mean. I really hate when people flirt with each other and they already have family?! Dirty people inside the company. A lot of gossip going on around and around!

I have observed these things with myself and also with some friends I have. 50% of our “barkada” is working/worked at a call center and we have the same experiences. If you want to know what happened to me, why you think I’m so angry (or shows that I hate this job), you can see the changes that I observed on my next blog.

Call Center Part 1 : Nature of Work

Well, crazy as it may seem but I studied my body’s reaction towards the work that I’m having. First of all, let me describe the nature of my work so you get a clear picture of what’s going on a call center. Customer Service Representatives or call center agents (well, for most, they prefer the first one because it sounds better but either way; that’s ok) are [a]sitting all day long; for 8 hours. [b]We keep on talking for 2 hours nonstop, then 15 minute break and calls again for more than 2 hours. We’ll take our 1 hour lunch break then go back to taking calls then break again, then calls. I hate repeating the process! Anyway, we just keep on talking and talking nonstop unless it’s the glorious “avail” time (meaning after you you’re your call, there’s a 1-2 minute gap before another call comes in). [c] You are in front of the computer all day, not just a computer but a really slow computer! It’s like a computer from Charles Babbage’s time! [d] For my account, we handle billing and general inquiries. We take the blame from the customer who was tricked by the company. I am on the customer’s side! We get all the irate, shouting, crying, and cursing customers. [e] And if customer asks for a supervisor, we have to wait for the stupid code and for an available supervisor which will add up to the customer’s anger. The shortest time I waited for a supervisor would probably be 4 minutes. [d]We have goals that we have to hit:

AHT – Average Call Handling Time (should be about 3-4 minutes, we are required to have at least 60 short calls for a day)

Transfer Rate – we have to transfer the call to a proper department

Callback Rate – we SHOULD make sure that every customer doesn’t call back within 7 days, to ensure Customer Satisfaction.

Sales – not that much but I’m going to include it anyway

Attendance – and of course, the most famous thing I think I would never pass.

And we have to have a 100% Customer Satisfaction survey from customers. If we didn’t get surveyed, well, sorry! You wouldn’t have a huge chance of passing the goals.

Disclaimer: Not all call centers have these goals; this is just base on the company I am working for.

And there’s more! [e] Our lunch is not that full 1 hour, we are required to go to our assigned seat station and check if there’s someone using it. Guys and gals, that’s right! We don’t have our own station! We don’t have our own computers; we don’t have our own headset (which is very much a drawback for me since I’m really sensitive with smell) and we have to report to our “Team Leader” (TL/supervisor) 15 minutes before that. I just want to thank God from here, because I have the coolest TL ever. We have to bring our own alcohol to spray on that computer which was used by previous agent. [f] We have to work on a graveyard shift, because we have different Time Zones! We are like vampires, we work late at night (and I’m talking very late in here; around 10pm), then go home in the morning when the sun is up. And last, [g] you are not that inspired to go to work because you can’t even put pictures on your station because, as I’ve said, the station is not YOURS! Ok, so that is the nature of a work of a call center agent. My goal is to present to you the pros and cons of call center agents. For those who are aiming to work in a call center after graduating, I know it’s easy to get in but you’ll regret afterwards. Mark my word.

Boracay of Cavite

On January 4, 2012, my family planned to visit Pansol in Laguna but almost all of us wants to go to a beach. I recommended Boracay of Cavite in Ternate Cavite. This is not mainly beach but a training ground for the marines. I recommended it because I saw some good reviews on the net. We traveled, I think, for 3 hours to get there. The road was really scary, we go up, down, up, down, sharp curve and then up. LOL The site was really amazing I must say It was breathtaking!

And we found a very macho marine riding a motorcycle who led us to the base (thank goodness!) then we found it! Entrance fee is Php 100.00. Marines DON'T laugh. I dunno why, I was trying to make em laugh but... I failed. Anyways, After paying at the entrance, there's a 20-30 minute drive again going to the so called "Boracay of Cavite". When we got there, it... was... HORRIBLE! It's a major disappointment! The beach was dirty, with grayish sand, dog poo, and dirty CR. My gosh! For me the worst thing is the CR. It was like the CR in Vice Ganda's commercial with Glade. It's so dirty, my gosh! 

Anyways, we forced ourselves to be happy. Just to be happy, and enjoy the horrible view. The beach itself is not that worse, but the CR is the thing I can't get over with.

I do not recommend this beach for tourists, foreigners, and for those who can't bare the view. My cousin is very mad when we got there, very disappointed and as much as we tell her "Just enjoy the beach", she can't!!! My sister was harassed (VISUALLY) by marines. Especially that I-Don't-Know-The-Title Ramirez guy. She was, as we say "namanyak". When we forced ourselves to enjoy and just take pictures of us wearing bikini, they were like, I dunno, watching a scene! What? Is this the first time you see girls in bra? The hell...

Here are some pictures of us on the beach. 

Oh and PS, in fairness, the place was quite rich in seafood. We saw a marine, just diving and diving on the deep part of the sea just to get a huge octopus. It's really huge that it scared the hell out of me!

Another PS: Don't believe the camera! It might look good on photos but I must tell you , Looks can be deceiving. 

Cheers! -Aiko-

First Time

I have been planning on putting up this blog for so long now. And finally! Yes! I have my blog already! I had blogged before... but I dunno where it was now... I think that was ages ago! Now I want to get serious with blogging. I want to share my thoughts on the web. Just to release what I feel... Ok, I'll be posting my first formal blog any time soon about call centers.... Cheers to me!