8.29.2007 | 2:02 PM


The Minority Report

current music: Green Day - Minority.

Baka tipong "one night only" ang dating nito, but well, I still am back. Tipong Mick Foley or Steve Austin appearances sa WWE. Natakot lang kase ako kay Loraine eh. Kelangan nga nasa kabilang window ko 'yung blog page ko, parang nakalimutan ko na 'yung format ng entries ko. Muntik ko na nga ilagay sa "current music" 'yung talagang pinapakinggan ko right now eh. Buti na lang naalala ko pa na may point nga pala 'yun supposedly, so mamaya na 'yun. Though at the rate I'm writing this entry, baka kelangan ko na umuwi before ako makaisip ng relevant music. Pero hinde, kelangan matapos ko 'to... Sabi nga ni Patricia Evangelista sa kanyang Lipton Yellow Label Tea radio ad, "Fokahs, FOKAHS!" (nakakairita, pakinggan n'yo pa.)

S'yempre ano pa ba'ng p'wede pag-usapan kundi work. I remember nu'ng UP Orientation lunch sa Shakey's España, may nagtanong na taga-UP, "How's the work-life balance in SGV?" Natuwa ako sa sagot ni GBS (HR partner), "It's good; half the time you're working, and half the time you're balanced." Funny. Too bad he's not joking... At least, that's what I heard from the "auditwhores" (ang witty talaga ni Momon).

Which brings me to TASI. It's funny how contradictory the stuff about TASI circulates sa SGV... On one side, TASI seems like the SWAT team of SGV; kumbaga sa Men In Black, the best of the best of the best; kumbaga sa NBA, Original Dream Team; kumbaga sa UP, CBA (joke lang ulit, especially sa Eng'g people. Takot pa rin ako sa inyo). Meron talagang mga nagtatanong na, "Mas mataas ba s'weldo n'yo sa TASI?" (sana lang.) or "Mahirap daw ang exam n'yo d'yan?" (basta ako nadalian, ewan ko na lang sa inyo.) o kaya nagsasabi na, "Ayoko mag-TASI, parang ang gagaling n'yo lahat d'yan eh." (kayo nagsabi n'yan ha, hindi na rin namin tatanggihan.) Not to mention the elitist / coñotic reputation TASI has had to endure ever since they heard TASI people speak English. Feeling ko kasalanan ni John Ryan 'to eh, porke American s'ya kelangan American accent din s'ya. Hindi rin naman lahat swabe ang accent, minsan nga parang British-Jamaican 'yung tunog eh. And it's not a truth that all of we are better in the speech of English more than the rate in which not everyone else is already for now we have become you and I seem that while we were certainly known to be as of the balance sheet date.

On the other side, however, is the complete opposite. I keep hearing sentiments - generally from within the TASI ranks - that we are somewhat treated like second-class citizens. Neglected, even. I remember this one time, nu'ng linabas 'yung list ng gumagamit ng proxy servers, hindi kami na-email ng nag-broadcast ng list. Tapos pagdating sa recruitment, s'yempre Audit muna... tapos Tax... tapos Executive Assistant... tapos RPS (Report Production Services)... tapos hindi ka na babalikan... tapos 'pag nagmakaawa ka nang ayaw mo malagay sa Audit, 'tsaka babanggitin sa 'yo na merong TASI. Meron pa nga nagsabi sa 'kin na mas "exclusive" ang Audit, kasi nga naman kelangan CPA ka bago makapasok, whereas sa TASI, ok na 'yung g'wapo ka o maganda (joke lang. isa lang s'ya sa requirements). Not really convincing evidence, pero you get the picture. Baka meron lang kase akong mga hindi pa alam.

Doesn't really bother any of us, though. Kase whether we're elite or second-class citizens, the long and short of it all is that we're the minority. It's been that way before I got here; it's been this way since I got here; and most probably, it's gonna be this way long after I'm gone. And like most other people in minority groups, eventually we just stopped caring about what other people thought of us. Sometimes we talk about them, we get a laugh out of it, then we move on. It's not a matter of accepting or rejecting their opinions, nor is it a matter of liking or hating these people. They can think whatever they want to think - they're entitled to it. But as long as we're comfortable with who we are, what we do, and who we are with, then we have one small, happy TASI family. It's been that way before I got here; it's been this way since I got here; and I'm sure it's gonna be this way long after I'm gone.

So, in summary, text n'yo lang ako kung gusto n'yo mag-apply dito sa TASI. Recruitment is ALWAYS ongoing. Ang hirap talaga 'pag walang HR o...

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I pledge allegiance to the underworld
One nation under dog there of which I stand alone
A face in the crowd, unsung against the mold
Without a doubt, singled out
The only way I know

'Coz I wanna be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Coz I wanna be the minority
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