Dec. 23 ‘06 11:29am
About 10 minutes to go before I board the "fastcraft" that will take me across the pond to the island on which work awaits. I took the opportunity to eat more than usual. I always go home for my rest days in a semi-malnourished state. My mom’s great cooking always encourages me to make up for the whole week’s nutrition vacuum… Til here for now…
VGH stands for "Volunteer Go Home". Those three letters utterred in that order are music to the ears of an agent who doesnt see a personally valid reason for being on duty and taking calls. Today I got 3 calls halfway through my shift. Why spend the next half waiting for another 3?… 4?… calls? When the Duty Manager announced that VGH slots were available I didnt hesitate to volunteer…
December 25, 8:00AM
As expected today was a low call volume day, I only served 30 or so customers. A plus for today is I didnt have to pay for dinner before shift coz my landlord was holding a party and we also had a free lunch courtesy of our employer. I was late today by 5 minutes because I overslept. I overslept while my landlord and guests were having a videoke session downstairs with the speakers going full blast! I could feel the bass altering my heartbeat’s rhthym… Imagine that! Only downside to this day is I wasnt able to spend Christmas eve with my family…Merry Christmas to all!
Well whaddayaknow, I’m beginning to like my new schedule. The first and most important reason is - I’m actually getting more sleep! It was lights out at 9am this morning and now after 5.5 hours, I’m up. It doesnt sound like much to folks who put in the regular 8hour day but it’s lightyears away from the 2hours before and after shift I used to get. It’s a lot easier for me to fall asleep in the morning as opposed to in the middle of the day. Secondly, with the earlier schedule, I have a wider selection of modes of transportation. Instead of being stuck with having to part with P50 every night to pay for a taxi ride to work, there are enough jeeps still plying the streets which cuts my spending on transportation to P12. Hey, every little bit counts, you know. And lastly, due to the longer travel time required when commuting by jeepney, I have to leave my apartment at least 30 minutes before the work shift starts. This virtually eliminates any chance of my being tardy. I had gotten used to the 5 minute taxi ride to work which had me leaving my apartment with ten minutes to go. I would then arrive at work with barely enough time to log in and set up my tools before I could start receiving calls. Now I begin the shift in a more relaxed state. Oh there’s another advantage to early shift - low call volume. Sometimes I get only three to four calls during the first hour! To sum up, this new schedule isn’t so bad after all. What a pleasant surprise. 
I walk the streets in a daze. The early morning sun’s rays beating on my previously air-conditioned crown… I take no effort to raise my drooped eyelids. I would be walking aimlessly if not for the phrase that keeps repeating over and over in my head: "find me a bed to lay my head…" I go through the motions almost involuntarily… And thankfully find myself in my room, head to the pillow. "Sleep take me…NOW"
Just got word from my team lead that there’ll be a change in my schedule.
Just to give you guys a brief backgrounder, I’m not the type of person that can go to sleep at the drop of a hat. I have what I call Circadian Rhthym Unadjustible Disorder (CRUD). I started out my call center life reporting at 3am in the morning. A sudden, unexpected change in team manager and I found myself clocking it at 1am. A few weeks later I was given the heads up that by 2am I should be in my seat taking calls. Then the inexcusible move to the 12am time slot. My sleep time had reduced to 4 hours a day: 2 hours after shift and 2 hours before… Not the ideal if you ask me.
Now back to the latest change in schedule… I have to be logged in and ready to sooth grieving "valued" customers by 10pm! Talk about "major adjustment necessary"! What’s worse I used to have my day off on Sundays and Mondays… now my rest days are Thursday and Friday.It’s December guys! A brief glance at the calendar and you’ll notice the most important days to spend with your family fall on a Sunday…On the bright side, I’ll be home to celebrate my mom’s birthday on the 15th and my dad’s birthday on the 29th. Personally, I think that’s more than enough of a compensation…
