The Day I Died

by: Christian Duran

"Where am I now?"

I could actually just simply answer, “I am here in Iloilo.” But with the things that happened for the past few days, I would rather answer “I am at a crossroad as of the moment.”

This is the story of how I died.

Today is June 8, 2011 and I’m exactly 22 years, 9 months, and 15 days old. 8323 days have passed since my birthday. I already had 199752 hours in my life. Some people call me young but I beg to disagree.

For me, age isn’t the measurement of how young or old a person is but your preposition in life.

Some call me childish and inexperienced mainly because I don’t drink. Those people are pathetic. I totally agree with a friend when said that some people tend to label “manhood” with how many bottles of beer you can gulp. If he meets someone with that kind of mentality, he would challenge that person in a bicycle race or marathon instead and see who gives up easily. This wouldn’t also measure how “manly” you are but it’s way much better than the crappy “beer method.”

I’m not a bragger. People who don’t know me however call me as such. They just can’t get my jokes. My close friends and classmates in college know who I am and can easily ride on with my attitude

I said that I am not a bragger but I am a proud man (proud in a positive way). I don’t brag this to other people. . only here in my blog. After all, this is my territory. :-)

I graduated from UP and I am proud of that. I am currently taking up Master’s in Business Administration (M.B.A.) which is a challenging feat. You are facing managers and other high profiled people and you tend to be on the same playing field with them. (Now, call that childish.)

As soon as I finished my M.B.A., I’m planning to teach in college, get a good pay, and settle down. Things will be easier if you just have the will and the credentials to back it all up. I may be goofy at times but I now know what direction I would like to take in my life.

All of these however we’re put in jeopardy because of what happened on July 4, 2011.

I’ve been working for Virtual Assistant Technologies Inc for roughly 7 months. This is by far the longest time I’ve worked for a company. I was already a regular employee which for me is an achievement.

I’ve learned a lot of things from my work. I started as an SEO content writer. This honed my skills in writing; not just "free-flow" writing but writing professionally (with rules, and guidelines). I was then assigned as a general task virtual assistant. This position thought me a lot of things (from Craigslist postings, market research, data mining, Quickbooks, etc.)

I am happy and contented with my work. I’ve already worked in 2 call centers before and I tell you, life is tough if you’re a call center agent. I salute people who have stayed for more than 6 months in such kind of profession. Being a content writer and virtual assistant has also their own challenges (you know, mind following guidelines and rules in writing, studying unfamiliar tasks, beating deadlines , and making clients satisfied) but I don’t see any pressure. I’m a “mental kind of of guy” (no need to expound it, I know you get what I mean. :-) ) and this is my forte after all.

I managed to balance my work and studies. My shift is at 9pm-6am and I usually have M.B.A. classes at 5:30 pm. to 8:30 pm. This is enough for me sleep in the morning. Actually, from time to time I even managed to play basketball right after work and sleep afterwards. I usually sleep at 8:30 am., woke up at around 4:30pm and then I’m off to school.

Right after my 6th month review, I was offered a Team Lead position (a managerial position). I didn’t hesitate to take the challenge. It’s an achievement. The trust that people gave me was overwhelming.

I thought life wouldn’t get any better when the worst thing I could possibly imagine happened. Without notice, Virtual Assistant Technologies Inc. last July 4, 2011. We were not informed about the company’s owner about this move. Things just happened in a blur.

The owner left a message saying, “Team USA quits in true Filipino fashion.. 1 day notice.” Although I was shocked, the phrase made me smile somehow.
I felt bad but I understood the company owner’s side. For the past few months, I’ve seen how people come and go. Complaints are flying everywhere. People are unhappy and discontented.

Common reason for people resigning is the ever fresh “health reasons.” Well, I am not saying that people are just making up reasons or so. There are some who truly needs a break. We have our own individual difference and perspective about this matter but for my side, I’ll say, “Come on, when you applied for work, you were told that you will be assigned in night shift. You shouldn’t have accepted the job in the first place. It’s that simple. They are just some people (again, not all) who are tired of thinking about other reasons why they want to quit and settled down to the cliché “health reasons.” They should be more creative next time.

Also, if you are to resign, you should have at least made a 30-day notice for that.” Who wouldn’t be pissed off when 2-3 people resign in just a span of 1 week?
The owner further said that he feels unappreciated and hard to believe, I understood where he’s coming from.

Now, what I don’t like about what he did was that he generalized everyone. The mistakes of others were being paid by all. There are people who have stayed in the company for almost 3 years. They deserve respect. Rather than quitting in an unprofessional manner, he should have called an open forum first to air his side; for his employees to know and be sensitive about the negative vibes looming.

He should have at least made an effort to reach out. He thought that he was reaching out through team building activities but he hardly talks during those occasions. This is also the reason why I strongly agree with a professor when he said that “team building” isn’t the right term to use. Companies already have teams. They just have to make sure that the team is intact. Rather than “team building”, “team alignment” would be a much better term to be used. I couldn’t agree more.

It’s a matter of healthy communication; swallowing everyone’s pride and opening everyone’s mind. I know it’s easier said than done but it’s highly possible.
I just don’t like it when people push their side without listening and not paying attention to what the other side might be thinking and feels. When people intentionally raise their voice just to have the impression as “I’m important. You should listen to me.” That is pride at its best. I totally hate that. If you want people to listen to you, you should be a good listener yourself. It’s a simple give and take rule.

"So, where am I now?"

I’m back to square one. All the things that I’ve been through were lost just like that.

What hurts the most is the fact that I’ve learned to consider people in the company as my friend and not just mere acquaintances. Although misunderstandings are but normal, I’ve shared laughter, good times and even downtimes with these people. Those moments are priceless.

“I’ve learned to go out of the office everyday and be greeted by morning’s sunshine with this group of people.“

This is perhaps one of the most painful things that happened in my life. I never gave up. I never left my job. My job left me.

July 4th was the day I died. But then I’m breathing at this very moment. I am a fighter. We all are.