Hello RFS-IT! Woohoo!

So the long awaited day of my transfer finally came... Woohoo!! My day started at 9am. Whew, I woke up really early this day because I had to be in the office before 1pm. So just to make sure I wasn't late on my "first day," I made sure I was awake three hours before. I took my sweet time preparing for work, even found time to chat with Cathy and comment some more on my latest photo album posted here at mulitply that earned quite a number of response... Hahaha.. I'm already laughing just thinking about those highschool photos!

Anyway, back to my topic... So it's my first day and exactly 12:29pm I was in the elevator going to the 12th floor. I had to rush there and grab a clean notebook from Pau's supplies before I head to the 24th floor. That's our rendezvous. Me and the Retail Desktop Support (RDS)... awwww.. no longer GTI assisting me on anything IT-related. Kuya Ace said he'll meet me at 1pm at the 24th pantry. So before that time, I was already there. Good thing I saw Barry and he's on his way to eat lunch with Monica and the new girl in charge of Chase Shop (I think Asha or something is her name.. sorry!). So I decided to sit with them while they eat lunch.

It is always a treat to see Barry and talk to him. Grabe. Ang kulit. So while they were eating we kept on throwing these tagalog words at him and laugh in amazement on how funny it sounded pero grabe A for effort and he's getting quite good at it already. So almost an hour passed by with me having fun at the pantry with them while waiting for Kuya Ace.

Hay. Late sya. hehhee.. Pero it was raining daw kasi. Okay fine. No problem. So he texted saying he's there na and where was I na daw. (I was with Charly at the restroom kasi she's trying to dry her clothes from the dryer, super basa sya from the heavy outpour.)

So I went to the pantry and saw Kuya Ace. Hahaha.. Parang EB kasi I didn't know how he looked like. I had to text him pa that I was wearing white blouse so he'd recognize me. Hehehe.. So he did and finally my first day with RFS-IT started...

He had to meet me there at the 24th floor because he had to configure the laptop that will be assigned to me. (Lucky me, all RFS-IT employees working at Bridgespace has to have a laptop because they connect to the network via VPN lang.) Speaking of VPN, I don't have mine yet so looks like I have to work at Philam pa muna? Kuya Ace said he'll try to find a way of getting me a VPN real quick so I can start working at Bridgespace...

After a couple of hours my new boss, Mac, dropped by there at the 24th and there we had our first one on one session. It was a good first meeting. He told me the big plans for RFS-IT Manila and what will be my part in it. Immediately I am getting excited. It promises still some admin work but the thing is he'd want me to be a partner in his analysis of things... So he'd drag me to most of his meetings so I would end up knowing everything (or almost) he knows so when he need another brain to consult from all that decision making, I'd be there. Whew. At least I'm gonna start using this brain God gave me. And so that's why the position says "Business Management Analyst." Tomorrow we are heading to Net Quad to check on things and I'm gonna be there too. :) I am so loving it already!

After our talk, I had to go back to the 12th floor to still work for my beloved LTDM. My head is starting to hurt. Hahaha.. When you use your brain, it does that, you know :P But at 15 minutes before 8pm, I am on my way to Bridgespace to attend my first "All Hands RFS meeting." It's like a townhall in between sites. And what do you get in a meeting full of IT peeps? A videocon! hahaha... Ang galing! So the videocon I am used to was the one being held at the TR2 before, which when we found out how expensive was, we stopped using. But here you have two monitors, a web cam and one screen showing 4 other video feed of our partners from US. How cool is that?!

It was a perfect way to start a first day in a new function. In just one hour I was given a snap shot of what RFS-IT has already done for the Manila site and what other things is yet to come. My hurting head is already throbbing at this time. Too much information for a day. But I loved it. Oh, I forgot to mention that Mac did asked me if I can place an order for 3 boxes of pizza for everyone so we have something to eat after the all-hands... hehehe.. So I did that before I head to Bridgespace and true enough after the meeting we started to eat.

So imagine a conference room with 3 boxes of yellow cab pizza, 3 bottles of softdrinks, 2 girls and more than 10 men. Ay sus. Kagulo! Hahaha! So Mac introduced me to the group saying it's my official first day. And those rowdy boys started chanting "Welcome, jeliene! Welcome, jeliene!" Hahaha..Andami ko instant kuya! Most of them I know already because I've worked with them on their travels and Tantan and Bob were there so it was easy fitting in.

After the pizza party, I had to head back to Philam. (Hayyyy.. Ria please find the replacement real quick!!!) We were working on the brochure for Jhopet's mobility project. By the time Innocent started correcting the draft I made, my headache has become unbearable. Grabe.  Then I had to rush to the 24th floor pa to meet with Dave for a few minutes to discuss some more of the turnover stuff. But thank God I finished and so now I am home. =)

Of course before my way home I had to stop by my friendly friends - ang mga GTI at si Pau. Of course they started to kid me about the fact that I now have a laptop and so they can't belittle my jurassic IBM laptop at home anymore. They wouldn't let me hear the end of the fact that my personal laptop is so outdated kasi. Hehehe. Sorry your teasing ends now. :P I stayed there for a few minutes before heading home.

Need a perfect way to end a rather stressful, information overload day? Go talk to these guys. My headache started to clear when I started laughing with this lot. Hay, I'm gonna miss the lunch hours at the pantry. =) Thanks for always making my day and making me laugh.

Ang haba ng blog ko! Hahaha! But then again, I just had to document this.

Hello RFS-IT! indeed.

Woohoo!!! :D

finally moving up

It's official. I finally signed the JO today. I've known since two weeks ago and I've wanted to tell the world but I was stopping myself since it wasn't official yet.

But now it is. I am moving on to another chapter in my career life! Thank God.

I love working with Chase. I've been in the company for almost three years now. If you count the Sykes days, that would make it almost five. I have a lot of memories with this company... Lots of grievances, complaints... I've shed a lot of tears, have spent a lot of unpaid OT hours, have been irritated numerous times with "slow" people (hehe)... I've had the urges to quit since day one... But I stayed on... because this company have grown with me. I just loved every single person I've worked with, I have cherised every laughter I spent with everybody, I enjoyed all the free food I've eaten within the corners of our small pantry (dami nanglilibre as in!), I have saved every single flash taken from our digicams, I enjoyed all the sametime chats especially with the recent installation of version 7.5.1 (ganun!)... and most of all, I am treasuring all the friendships I made with a handful of people.

I've grown to love the 12th floor Philamlife Tower. I've been moved countless of times all over the floor and have survived the production area's abnormal airconditioning system (it's as cool as a fridge in one side and hot as hell on the other side). But after 2 years and 8 months, I am leaving the place...

I've held on the same position as I was when we transitioned to Chase's own call center. Some people have commented on how stuck I seem to be in being an admin and that I should start applying whenever there are openings in the company. Honestly, I've been thinking about that. However, the openings just doesn't appeal to me. Either I don't think I am qualified enough or simply because I liked the perks that came with being the boss's assistant.

A couple of months ago, a new VP has been assigned to the Manila site to oversee the entire RFS operations within Chase. Of course what expat VP doesn't need an admin? Immediately I felt the desire to move on and so I expressed my desire to be transferred to the new VP and be his admin. I prayed about it, I dreamed about it...But God simply has other (and better) plans so it did not push thru. The new VP is still working out on his headcount requirement and so can't afford to hire a full time admin yet. HR had no choice but to get a temp from an agency.

So I let go of that dream and worked as usual.

But one afternoon, Ria called me and said simply "Jeliene, I think I finally have the promotion for you." A few minutes after, she sent the IJP email to everyone. Normally, whenever I receive emails from Ria, it goes straight to my trash but that email was different. I clicked it open, and bearing in mind Ria's words a few moments before, I read every word with trepidation. Do you get that feeling when you know something is right and it is for you? Do you know what it means to get that it-is-so-real-I-can-almost-taste-it kind of feeling? That's exactly what it felt like. I remember praying "Lord, now I know why that admin did not push thru. You just never cease to amaze me. This is it."

So I applied for the position and waited for a week to be interviewed. I was the first to be interviewed by the technology site manager for RFS-IT. And modesty aside, I think I impressed the hell out of him because after that interview, he sent me an email, thanking me for my time and asking me already how soon can I transfer! And Ria told me he said something like "Do I still need to interview other applicants if I already found the perfect candidate for the job?"

I thank and praise God for this new chapter in my career life. I am finally taking a step up in the corporate ladder and I know I deserve it because I know exactly what I'm getting into. I am fully equipped and I believe this is exactly where my God wants me to be because He orchestrated things so I can get here at this moment, exactly when He willed it to be.

I am just so excited to transfer on July 15.

Actually only the job title is different. I'm now called "Business Management Analyst" but over all, I'm still like an admin. But this time, it's dedicated to the RFS-IT and it involves project management (now that's exciting!).

Oh yeah... this is indeed a promotion with the salary increase and stuff... :)

And did I mention that they are issuing me a laptop? :P