Since July 2 is my job anniversary date, I would like to
write a little tribute to the people who made my stay worthwhile, fun,
challenging, and exciting at the same time in the workplace.
It’s been two years since I’ve landed this job. I wasn’t
really sure at first if I will fair at this work because research isn’t one of
my fortes. However, I know everyone has their own learning curve and everyone
is trainable, so brave-heartedly, I pushed through with my application and
mustered all the guts I can to be able to stomach taking the research path.
Let me give a heads-up why I was so intimidated with this
job.
As I can vividly remember, Clinical Research isn’t my
favorite subject in college. This is the subject I have taken for granted
because I found it too boring to write and read a lot about healthcare and
clinical stuff (but I actually enjoyed it a little later when I was finishing
my thesis). Moreover, Clinical Research sessions are my favorite time to cut
classes, snooze, doodle, eat, and gossip with my classmates. But God is
merciful despite my stubborn school behavior; He gave me a good grade in
research (which I know I somehow deserve because I was one of the ten people in
our group to have contributed amply in writing and analysis). So I cannot
really contemplate the irony of life.
God put me to a job that is not my cup of tea but at the same time He is
just so gracious to put me here where I can continuously learn and acquire new
knowledge and not only that, but also meet nice colleagues and became friends
with them.
I started out as a Document Analyst, creating forms,
reports, adhocs, and obviously documents necessary for the conduct of a
clinical trial. It was challenging and I liked it. But there came a point where
I want to venture for greater opportunities so I tried to apply as a flight
attendant and to no avail, my innate anthropometrics did not make it to the
standards of an FA. My height was lacking of the expected FA height standard
and I don’t think I could ever climb to the standards. After all I am now in my
quarter life that no pill could ever make me taller unless I can visit
wonderland and eat the tall pill after falling down the rabbit hole.
Despite the frustration and failure, after almost two years,
I have been assigned to be a monitor for data related to nursing (as far as I
know that was my task). I was happy to be doing something I can relate to but
after a short while I was asked to transfer to another task and that is to be
an Operations Coordinator which is my current JD. So far, I enjoy my job with
the help of the people who have put color to my life at work.
So enough about the history of my work, let me tell you
something about my friends in the workplace.
I started out as an outcast, actually me and Ate Eva. We
were newbie then and we reckon that the whole department was already chums with
each other that we found it hard to penetrate the friendship circle at work.
Fortunately, somebody by the name of Joseph found mercy and let us in their
friendship circle.
Originally, there was Eva, Joseph, Kristel, and Ana. They
were my first friends at work.
Joseph, he was the first one to show compassion and mercy to
outcasts like me and Ate Eva and invited us to join them for lunch. He was the
first one to approach us and flash us with his angelic smile (which I thought
wrong later on – there’s no such thing as angelic smile from Joseph). Joseph
is a hardworking person and must I say, most punctual that I know of in our
department. I look up to him in a way that he is humble to admit his mistakes
(at times, not) and humble to ask for advice and sound judgment. Though he is
one of the favorite persons to make fun of at work, he is equally as bully as
anyone in the department when he is in the mood. Joseph is kind enough to lend
money and lend his credit card for the use of the team. What I like most in
Joseph is that he is a good steward of money. I look up to him and respect him
in this sense and that he is able to invest in necessary items and luxuries
without running short of money.
Eva, was my first friend at work because she is my co-hire.
I treat her as an older sister that I never had. I have so much respect for her
because she still exhibits a kind attitude even if she’s pissed. Her values are
always coordinated with her actions. She is a proof of practice-what-you-preach
principle. Just like Joseph, she is a good financial steward. Moreover, Eva is
one of the persons I heed advice from. I trust her with my sentiments and I
trust her for unbiased advices. I am happy that she is blooming and improving
in the social sense because she was very timid during the first years. I can
compare her to a butterfly undergoing metamorphosis and she has improved a lot
over the course of years. She now has something sarcastic to say about Joseph
and whenever she gives funny remarks, it’s a hard blow that can make us all
laugh.
Kristel, is a
passionate leader. She is one of the persons you know was really born a leader.
Since Kristel is our Senior Analyst that time, she is very fun to work with.
She is helpful and resourceful and she doesn’t put too much stress on people.
She makes working light and fun. Her leadership is a good role model to us. What
I most like about Kristel is that she knows what she is doing and she exercises
her authority in the correct and reasonable way. Also, Kristel is a very
outgoing and sociable person. She likes trying things which I love, too. One of
my favorite traits of Kristel is her humility. She humbles herself and admits
her flaws and she has been a good example to me on how to embrace oneself
despite the flaws. Plus, I adore her really good and healthy skin not to
mention, her talent in singing and dancing. She is indeed God’s daughter and I
admire her faith. She is blessed in so many ways and I am just so happy and
thankful to become friends with her.
Ana – this little lady has smitten me with her charm and charisma.
At first, I thought she will be the last one I will ever like because she has a strong,
growling personality. But as time goes by, I learned that she is just tough on
the shell but melting in the core. Seriously, she’s small but terrible (in a
positive way). She can use her strength to punch somebody who has offended her
(peace be with you). Kidding aside, Ana has a colorful story and what I admire
most in her is her love for her family. She used to tell me stories about her
life and I see that she has been through a lot and she is credible to give
advices in relation to my painful experiences. Her mean sense of humor got me
to like her too. Furthermore, her talent and love in beautiful things. She is
our salon diva who makes sure our nails are prettified. Not only does she give
life advices, but also beauty, fitness, food, lifestyle, etc. This woman, albeit small, is one of the persons I adore at workplace.
Let me continue with my next post the other characters that
put color to my work life. J
