The Long Expected Party

The long expected post-celebration of my birthday with my friends.It did feel like a reunion, though some would probably suspect it as a council. (Haha.)

What Made Me Boil

Anger is exquisite, one author had written…  And I agree.  It is as exquisite as it is intense that expressing it is the only thing you can think of when you feel its onset, and keeping it is a sin.

 

Just a few weeks ago (you see, I still harbor it), I embarked on a seemingly easy task of coordinating with a few people to finish a project I was assigned to do.  Yes, easy task...  Except for the usual delays, everything flowed smoothly.  Until my deadline came and I still have one delinquent agency on my list.

 

So, in my more polite than usual manner (which means I’m on the edge and really irritated), I called up the secretary of this LGU higher-up to follow-up on the things I needed so as to complete what I’m doing.  As I have always assumed, and based on previous experiences, secretaries are easier to deal with than their bosses (although there are random exceptions), so this one I thought would not be any different. 

 

Unexpected things always hit you in the face before you can even say “What?!!!,” so they say. And I got hit big time.   What I was asking was not really that hard… just a picture of his boss and a brief profile.  That wasn’t hard, right?  All I was asking was for her to email them to me.  It’s a no-brainer.   And what did she say? I would have been more understanding if she had said that their agency’s  IT capabilities are ancient, but no, she almost made me choke on the spot when she said “Pwede bang pa-pick-up na lang kasi hindi ako marunong mag-scan at mag-attach ng picture.”  If the telephone has a playback button, I would have pushed it just to make sure I heard her right.  How could they hire someone who doesn’t know the basics of internet and e-mail to fill up a secretarial position?  Okay, granted I have a very high expectation of people in the government service, can’t she just ask someone else to help her do it?  After all, that LGU has more than a thousand people in its employ, and she’s the secretary of the HR Officer.  How hard can it be?  “Kasi maraming ginagawa yung sa MIS namin, hindi ko rin sila maistorbo.” Wrong answer!  I don’t know how many people are stationed in their MIS department but there must be one who she could ask for assistance.  I know, because I used to work in that agency and I used to be in the HR department so I know the kind of power the HR people can wield if they want to ask for a favor that’s work-related.

 

If you ask me, it didn’t really matter if they couldn’t give me anything.  I could always find a way. There’s always a bunch that can be found on the web.  The mascot of a famous cold reliever will actually be a perfect replacement. 

 

I wasn’t about to give up, of course.  I’m beating the deadline and I know the kind of last-minute revisions that could take place so I need to finish early.  So I gave her time to ask for help.  Less than an hour before 5:00 pm I called her up again.  She said she already sent it through the email.  I told her I didn’t receive any file as I've been checking the mail every hour,  Turns out the email address that was given to her was wrong.  Miscommunication, I understand.  I gave her the right email address and she said she’s about to email it right at that moment.  So I thought there wouldn’t be any trouble.  I put down the phone and waited for her email.  Alas! It came.  I opened it, and… lo and behold!  She did give me what I was asking for but not exactly how I explained it to her.  I was asking for (1) the picture and (2) the profile, not the picture and profile.  I asked for two things, she gave me one, and in jpeg format.  Quite hard to edit the picture out, if you ask me, because I need it to be separate from the profile.  I thought to myself, I must be really difficult to understand or I failed to explain properly.  It must be that or she’s a total loser (excuse me for the word but I can’t find any other word that fits).

 

Anyway, I was at the end of my patience.  I called her up half an hour before 5:00 pm asking for just the picture.  I explained to her why.  And this was when she finally drained the last ounce of patience I reserved for other unfortunate events that might take place within the day…  “Okay lang ba kung bukas na lang kasi paalis na yung head ng MIS namin.”  I looked at my watch, it wasn’t 5:00 pm yet. So I told her, “Wala pa naman pong 5:00 p.m.”  She retorted, “Ganon po talaga.”  As if she couldn’t do anything else other than shake her head.  I’m sure the MIS head has an assistant or subordinates she could ask for help. It’s just a matter of re-scanning the picture and sending it.  What could be harder?

 

If I had been on the phone with her longer, I really don’t know how it would all end.  So I just said, “Ok” in my most polite tone while I was racking my brains as to who I could call to help her out in her stupidity.  Then, it occurred to me that I don’t need to think for her.  That’s her freaking job!  Instead, I called my friend (she probably thought I didn’t have any connections) who is also in the HR and complained about her attitude.  My friend must have been so shocked at my outburst that all she could say was “Sige tol, mangulu ku.”  And would you believe it?  In a matter of 2 minutes, I got what I was asking for.  If I could still wield some sort of influence there, despite the fact that I don’t even work there anymore, I wonder why she’s having a hard time asking people for help. It’s work-related anyway.  Or is she just too lazy to think…  With that kind of capacity, she’s so lucky that she has a job.  Is that the kind of people they hire nowadays?  Uhmm… no wonder…  It’s people like her who give government employees a bad rep.  Shame on you ___________!

 

I do, however, regret putting her boss’ picture in that directory.  He pulled out of the mission at the last minute.  How convenient…  I wish I hadn’t bothered.

 

Moral of the story?  Some people lose their morals because some people make them do so, hehe.  Oh… and another thing… Make sure you have friends everywhere.  They’re your saviors.