Fun Things to Squeeze In During Lunch Breaks

I LOVE MY LUNCH BREAKS. I just love the idea that food / eating is one of the highest form of glories. I mean, warriors, teachers, priests, students, politicians all stop to eat. That makes eating a really powerful activity (um, literally too) because it makes us realize that we are all, after all, just human. Attached with this glory, lo and behold, the corporate world RESPECTS lunch breaks.

Whenever I have my lunch break, I don’t really eat lunch. I spend it doing other things which are not work-related. And then I get through the day with a smile on my face. I’ve come up with a list of my favorite things to squeeze in during lunch breaks.

1. Chatting with a good friend. This can also be your officemate/ colleague too. Chatting about simply anything—fashion, relationship, hobbies—makes you touchbase into another person’s soul and lets you bond properly. Surely there are other more exciting things than spreadsheets and deadlines and the clients breathing down your necks. Chill. And as for your good friend, if you can’t see each other in person, drop a quick call or indulge in a text-fest.

2. A mani-pedi. Whenever I’m inside a salon, I really feel relaxed. No, wait. What I meant was, I feel like a queen. I make sure that I go to the posh salons because their services are really above par and the attendants won’t size me up like vultures (or at least they do it more subtlely). A mani-pedi only lasts for 30 minutes. If the place is not too busy, request for two attendants to attend to you at once. When you get back to your office, you’ve got some color jumping on your keyboard. Really chic! Bonus: Mani-pedis are really cheap here in Davao.

3. A fabulous drink. No, I’m not suggesting anything alcoholic here. Just a drink which makes you feel better and luxurious. Overpriced fancy coffee? No problem. A fruit shake? Better. For me, it’s Twinings tea in Four Red Fruits. Really relaxing and makes me feel good. Smells good too! Indulge in liquid goodness to help you get through the day feeling good.

4. A fun/ inspiring video. If your office has internet access, then spend the rest of your lunch break by viewing funny/ inspiring videos. If you want, you can even squeeze in one or two episodes of your favorite TV series. I shamelessly admit that my key to blah-away days are one or two episodes of The Hills. Yes, that’s right, the one with the superficial super rich blondes who are always crying over the same men and backstabbing each other. I guess it’s inspiring to know that I’m much more productive than them. And so are 2047298472394 other girls I know. (The numerical figure is a joke.)

5. Cat nap. Why, this is one thing that you should really try but not overdo. Power naps are great when taken at the middle of the day; just be sure that you’re one of those people who are comfortable just leaning over your table and keeping your feet flat on the ground. For shame-free naps, keep your face faced down on your desk and set a cellphone alarm so you can go back to work on time. And don’t forget to gargle with mouthwash after. Tee hee!

6. A Quickie. NO EXPLANATION NEEDED.

See? My even my lunch breaks help me become more productive at work. When you feel good, there is a high likelihood that your output is really good too. Good thing my office does not behave like a corporate leash. Haha! Try some of these out and see the difference. You’ll be surprised how half an hour of me-time can do so much for your well-being.

♥

Dating for Workaholics

I know a lot of people in different industries who seem to have just little time for recreation, let alone dating. Also, “I’m busy” holds to be a very good excuse for someone who hasn’t done much dating lately. Well, let those days be gone! Here is a quick guide for dating workaholics, or dating when you’re a workaholic.

1. Are you really a workaholic? The first step is to determine if you’re really a workaholic. Psychological studies show that all the “-holic” tendencies (shopaholic, alcoholic, chocoholic, etc.) means a compensation for something else. So if you are a workaholic you’d have to admit it to yourself. Do you ALWAYS work the extra hours? Do you have a job (a department, a boss and a company) which demands excessively from you? Are you struggling to get promoted, or get a “regular” status? Try to track if there’s something wrong in your chosen career and try to lessen it or kill it. If you can’t then work with it and make sure it’s not long term.

2. Prioritize well. If somebody puts you off because they’re “too busy” then it means that they are working on other things but not on you because YOU ARE NOT A PRIORITY. Yes, that’s the cold hard truth guys. BUT if you use the busy excuse to put off dates, well, you might have an issue with yourself. Maybe you’re not really ready to date and you just need a quick way out. Also, if you have more than one date lined up for the week/ month, try to prioritize which are the ones which are more important. If you are with just one partner, remember the more important dates and determine which the best dates are for your partner to enjoy them the most.

3. Pay attention when you are on the date. Put off your Blackberries and your laptops. Hey, if you really wanna land with a partner, you better pay attention to the potential ones. Dates are the perfect times to balance your work and your personal life. When your date is talking, listen to them. Observe. Affirm. Get to know them truly. Do not half-listen while running in your mind the next-day tasks. Switch off work mode and immerse yourself in the moment. Also, try not to talk about work with your date. It’s nice to share funny and charming anecdotes but no complaining/ nagging please. If you think that you have found someone to go serious with, or have already gone serious with this person, take a breather from your day job and send them an email or a quick text message saying that you are thinking of them. Communicate well. It might sound like so much of an effort to you, but really, it’s worth it.

4. Start a life outside work. If work eats up most of you, then they must have eaten the best of you already. Avoid this by starting to have a life outside work. Pick a hobby that you’d be glad to improve and invest (not spend) a lot of time working on it. Also, try to broaden your horizons by having fun activities with people who are not from your office. It will really take your mind off work because you will talk about, laugh about and even argue (in a friendly way) about different things. So when you’re out in the dating market, you are not that boring old folk who is always talking about work and people from work. Yes, no matter how funny they are. Besides, getting out of the office is, by common sense, the best way to meet NEW people. That is, if you’re still single, okay?

Okay now workaholics, those busy excuses are all disqualified now. Enjoy dating and cherishing one very good investment—a long lasting relationship.

On the same breath, please do not use dating as an excuse to slack off at work. Haha!

Let me know what you think, workaholics. Email me if you’re not working (or dating). Live_out_loud@ymail.com.

No TGIFs Anymore

Is it T.G.I.F. too soon? If you haven’t heard about T.G.I.F., it means “Thank God It’s Friday” and it has been used in the American corporate lingo for a long time in the intention of mocking a boring and seemingly meaningless job. Today, we are lucky that more and more workplaces have dedicated their time in efforts for positive psychology in terms of jobs and profession. Basic human resource management would tell you that the higher the person feels his morale is, the better he will be in doing his job. As I write, more and more offices are being renovated and rebuilt to induce a juicier and a more fun workplace, so work doesn’t feel like work at all.

Together, we move forward into a society of people who truly love and enjoy what they do and at the end of the day, institutions accomplish their goals and we build a whole new culture of fulfillment.

In the field of Positive Psychology, work may be categorized into three groups: jobs, careers and callings. The first category is the “jobs”. These are the things which we spend a lot of time and effort on but our only motivation towards doing the work is merely salary. There is no passion; everything feels like manual labor. No work, no pay; and no pay, no work.
On the other hand, careers are the kinds of jobs with a mixed reward system: salary + advancement. In careers, there are goals to be met and there is the promise of prestige through dedication. People who dedicate themselves to careers often get promoted and with the same amount of devotion, they will eventually get to the top.

However, once they are already at the top, they won’t feel the same vigor and challenge anymore and the career will subsequently wither and turn into a (sigh) job.
The last category is the “callings”. As the name implies, it is a calling, a purpose which pulls you towards fulfilling its reason. The rewards are more internal and they provide meaning in our lives. Most callings require special talents or characteristics, like the ones involved in arts and literature. They motivate the individual through sheer being and you, as a worker, will feel like you can do the work without pay, promotion or other forms of compensation. Callings are the dream jobs.

When you find satisfaction in your job, you can easily turn it into a calling by finding the meaning in it and commending yourself for every successful task that you accomplish. Try to see what makes your work special and how you can also motivate other people to do better in what they do, or choose to do what you do. What is inside you, that you can relate to the work, that you consider a gift? You can easily see the difference between jobs and callings. For example, teachers who treat teaching as a job will be moody, inconsiderate and will talk to the students only about lessons and anything school related. But a teacher who considers teaching as a calling will give extra effort when making reports, have a special way to deliver lessons in class, and will treat every student like it’s his or her own child.

If you put some cheer and genuine dedication in the work that you’re doing, you will end up being a more productive worker and not long, you will receive recognition. Everything will look more vibrant when you go to work in the morning and the intrinsic motivation will continue to develop.

So if you’re already in a job that you’re happy about, kudos to you and continue to pour devotion into that job. Not everybody has their dream job under their noses. But then again, it’s always ALWAYS a matter of choice.

Lemme know what you think--- live_out_loud@ymail.com.

It's The Climb: Of Social Climbing and Social Climbers

According to an entry in a famous online dictionary, a social climber is someone who “seeks advancement to a higher social class, especially by obsequious behavior”.
Social climbing is such a crime to mankind; and I cannot imagine of a more miserable existence than that of the social climbers. So while you are worrying about which projects you’re going to do first the next day, or whether your husband from overseas is really going to call, somebody not far away is thinking of what to wear tomorrow just so s/he can impress the people around him/her.

Everything, really, about social climbing, boils down to one thing: acceptance. People climb the climb because they want to be accepted. They are not contented of what they have or who they really are and they aspire for something that they view as higher forms of beings than themselves (richer ones, smarter ones, more popular ones). Some can be as mild as stretching stories and some can be as severe as committing crimes like stealing and deception.

Although it’s sad that some people can really have these forms of existence(s), we really cannot change the way some people view the world. For me, I am contented of what I have and who I am. If there’s something I want to achieve, I work hard for it and I don’t take credit for what I did. If I know someone who is exactly like me in terms of financial, intellectual and physical capacity BUT sees the world in a different way (“there is always someone better, I have to be like that”) then life is nothing but and endless climb.
The truth is, what led me to writing this article is that I recently became acquainted with certain people who went through lengths just to keep up with the crowd. One person stole from the company he’s working at, another went from rich lover to a richer lover, in search for the best shoe/bag/make up/allowance provider, and another simply told lies about his affiliations. Sad. Sad. Sad.
So I wore a keener eye on such people and found that they may be classified into three different categories:

The Exaggerator

These are the kinds of social climbers who may or may not earn big or know people of impressive affiliation; it’s just that they are fond of stretching stories. For example, she adds another P5,000 to her monthly income, says she went to a more expensive salon after you compliment her hair rebonding or perhaps says that s/he got this designer something at full price when in fact, it’s just a bargain from the internet or from ukay-ukay. They exaggerate everything and they get their fix from the wonder that you innocently show in your eyes once another story impresses you. If you spot these people ASAP, it’s easy to please them. Just act like you’re impressed. They feed with your wide-eyed wonder for the rest of the day.

I Know Who

Now these kinds of social climbers are not like the ones who are fond of shiny things and good looking assets. They are the ones who claim to know key people in a certain industry. For example, in the local writing scene, some writers claim that they personally know Ms. Editor in Chief and Mr. Hotshot Novelist even if the closest that they got to them was through a seminar and they barely even spoke. They act like they’re also part of the crowd-to-beat in a certain industry. They spend their mornings trying to impress people with the other people that they know and they spend their nights scouring Facebook for the next famous person to add.

See My Tag

These kinds of social climbers are filled with nothing but brands and tags. They get their fix from owning things which are beautiful and up-to-date. I know certain people who own really good looking cellular phones but then again they always ask me to text somebody for them. There are other people who even have plasma TVs in their living room sets but then they are not sure where they’d get the next tuition fee of bunso. Tsk tsk tsk. This is social climbing that is anchored on materialism and people from this category may not really need your impression, they just wanted something shiny under their noses.

So that’s it for social climbing today. I hope that all the social climbers out there will find something better and more worthwhile to do. (What are the chances that they might be reading this article?)

And, on a different note, I recommend the book “Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber” by Adele Lang. I just remembered reading it months ago and it was one hell of a fun ride.

Email me your thoughts about social climbing—live_out_loud@ymail.com. Or you can follow me via www.bitchvarsity.blogspot.com

Sailor Mercury for a Night!

So I attended a cosplay last night and boy, it was super fun!

I portrayed Sailor Mercury because our hair style is similar and incidentally, from 15 years back, I really adored her and gave her the status similar to angels and saints. I had stationery filled with Sailor Mercury, a Sailor Mercury body bag, Sailor Mercury bed sheets and I always cheered for Sailor Mercury during Sailor Soldier fights. Whew! :)

I realized that cosplay can be such a stress-reliever. Our cosplay was a company party, and since I work for a graphics design company, we had to be really visually appealing. So cosplay it is!

I posted my pictures in Facebook and a lot of my friends complimented me in my costume. I'm actually thinking of REALLY investing in a slammin' costume. So, what do you think? Sailor Mercury or no Sailor Mercury?

Chun Li is also a very strong runner-up. Lemme know what you think.

♥
bitch varsity captain

On Switching Careers

As far as I can remember, I really wanted to become a writer. Now that I am a full-time writer, I must say I’m happily settled and I don’t want to veer away from this industry again. Oh, did I say again? Yes, I did. The thing is, when I was in high school and college, I was still writing on the side but then I pursued different interests. In fact, I took up Marketing in college because I actually thought that the world of marketing, advertising and public relations is for me.

Right after I graduated, I had two jobs, one for the government and one for a Montessori school. Both needed my business course background but then it took me a long time before I decided to switch careers and become a full time writer.

It wasn’t that pay was bad, it’s just that when I was working for my two previous non-writing jobs, somehow a part of me was missing, and so even when I had a great office, a great uniform and great people around me, I kept on looking at the local classified ads.

After my gig at the Montessori school as an Executive Assistant, I tried looking for different jobs. I lurked around hotel management, VISA processing, merchandising, etc. just so I can find my “happy place”. But then I cut the chase and decided to write full-time. I was a freelancer for about a month and then I made up my mind. I’m glad I did, though.

As you can see, it took me a very long time to finally decide where I should settle. Here are some things which I treated as a career-switching checklist when I decided to switch careers.

The 8-Year Test

Picture yourself eight years from now. Do you see yourself still happily settled in the job that you have now or in the career that you have in mind? Again, the key phrase here is “long term”. If you want to switch careers, that means that you want to forego something in light of another, so it better be worth it, right? Five years is too short, and ten years may be too far off. So eight years it is.

Industry Stability

When the latest worldwide recession hit, most of the jobs which were lost were connected with merchandising and finance. The jobs which weren’t that much affected were the jobs in health care and in education. How recession-proof is your chosen career? Since you will be thinking long-term, assess how sustainable your industry is. The industry I’m in right now (full time) is internet-based. I realized that the internet will only get bigger so I settled here.

Does it Make You Proud?

If your job lets you have a sense of purpose? Do you feel like you “belong” with the people around you? Does your job make you proud? If you answered “yes” to all of these, perhaps it’s really a good choice to switch careers. There’s nothing like having a job which doesn’t feel like a job at all to make you realize the better things in the professional world and in life.

Switching careers is not as easy as it happened for me or as easy as how this article makes it sound like. Decide wisely, weigh your options well and never forget that the key phrase is “long term”.

Got some career-switching stories? Email me at live_out_loud@ymail.com.

Trading Up

I just met with a former classmate and a really good friend and we had lunch. Over a sumptuous dish of rotisserie chicken, java rice and pasta, we talked about our college life and we dreamt of the things that we will buy come payday. We have both gone far from what we were during college—more expensive clothes, dining in restaurants rather than fastfood chains, and we ALWAYS had prepaid cellphone load. We’ve covered quite a distance, eh?

Then she asked me if I have access to this gadget. It was one of Apple iPod’s latest babies, and I swear, we wouldn’t afford it had we been in college still. However, we talked about it like it was easily acquirable, and true enough, its price didn’t daunt us anymore. After we dined at a nice pizza place, we went out for donuts at a posh place downtown.

Then we continued talking about the latest cell phones, the latest shoe designs, the latest sale, who dates the latest cutie, etc. It was all about updating, upgrading and trading up. (Whatever you call it.) This made me realize that approaching technology, and life in general, nowadays is like riding a roller coaster or a race car without putting your seatbelt on. It can truly carry you in its powerful current and you have to be really strong to resist it.

When we were still in college, we didn’t mind about what the latest gadget was or even what the newest facial treatment was. Today, as we journey the professional life, somehow we are pressured to always step up, as if we are proving ourselves to ANOTHER imaginary boss, whom we need to impress all the time.

Then I realized that this culture wasn’t just with us. This culture was also common to a lot of newly graduated young adults, and reunions were more than just “simple get togethers”, it is an ego parade, and a catching up on who raises his/ her eyebrow the highest. Perhaps this is partly because of man’s cannot-be-contented character, plus the shock that we get from earning money which we can spend entirely to ourselves. This money shock is pretty alarming, because a lot of young people are not even capable of proper financial management. We can still be lured by the shiny things..even if we don’t need them.

Today, we are already upgraded versions of ourselves. And no matter how much I loathe the “always upgrading” lifestyle, I guess that there is still a good side in trading up. Along the way, we cannot deny that we eventually pick up lessons (especially about money) from here and there, and we will end up, well, traded up. Advanced. Upgraded.
Tell me what you think---live_out_loud@ymail.com.

Woman, How is THE OFFICE Treating You?

I recently overheard a conversation about this girl who was not happy about her job anymore. She holds an above rank-and-file position at company downtown. Well, it wasn’t THAT, actually. But she wanted a raise since she was given extra work and she seriously thinks she deserves it. Because she can’t blatantly tell her boss to give her a raise, she started taking absences from work and she expects the rest of the people in the workplace to get what she’s trying to convey. Surprisingly, her female coworkers got the message but the men from the top floors of the organizational chart accuse her of truancy.

My question: why can’t she just write a sincere and courteous letter about her concern? Are women nowadays too afraid to ask?

This glaring situation made me realize of a lot of things that women, I general, miss out on in the office because they were too afraid to ask.

First, the raise. When we’re working at a company for quite sometime and we believe that we have contributed a lot of the things that the company accomplished, then we sincerely believe we deserve a raise. THAT, or we suddenly are given extra responsibilities and the management seem to treat us like the same. (Evidence: the payroll.) Statistics show that women generally earn less than men because we were too afraid to stand up and ask for it. Less women “compete” for promotion against men, and also, less women DEMAND the salary that they think they deserve. When women don’t get what they deserve, usually, they just suck it in and pray that the next time will be better. When men don’t get what they deserve, they usually talk to their bosses about it and they’re even more cunning when competing for a promotion.

A reputable statistics company in the US also held a study which focused on new employees. They interviewed 1000 men and women for the same position. Every one was asked the same set of questions and each interview ended with “How much salary do you expect to receive in this job?” The ending? The average salary that the men quoted was around 20% higher than the average salary that the women quoted.
The thing is, women may dominate a lot of offices lately, but we’re still too afraid to speak out in the office.

Another interesting fact: more men ask for cash advances than women. Well, I told a friend about this and she just said that maybe it was because men are more pressured to provide, so they ALWAYS have to have money. My take on this is that women always had a shady relationship with money, and that is why women are not encouraged to really talk about money outside the bounds of family.

Men have always been trained to become go-getters and that is why in the office, they rise faster. Women, on the other hand, are being socially rewarded for being cooperating and having an easy-do-deal-with attitude, that is why women are not likely to stir legitimate corporate intrigue.

What do you think about this phenomenon? I’ve only been in the corporate world for months and I can these sad things actually happen. Should the bosses reach out to women more? Are workplaces and organizational charts simply not women-friendly enough? What about other forms of abuse? Like sexual and verbal assault? How long should the women keep mum?

Woman, how is the office treating you? Woman, email me at live_out_loud@ymail.com.