Cebu Days: A Handful of First Times (IV)

Everything was new to me since I entered the call center industry. I could hardly remember the terms the industry is using but these are some my memory has retained:

NCNS - No Call No Show

This happens when an agent is absent but doesn't call the company's hotline for an excuse of not going to work.

59ers or 29ers

This happens when you receive a call 1 minute before your out. That's such a frustrating moment. Happened many times to me.

Avail

When there are only a few calls or close to no calls in a day. Usually, this happens when the country you are based with is on a holiday like Thanksgiving Day or the 4th of July.

Queueing

When you receive calls every after the call. This is the busiest shift ever. If you are a great agent or a tenured one, you could handle calls close to 50 per shift. Can you believe that?

Pantry

"Pinasosyal na canteen". This was the first time I heard of that term and it was cool learning that.

OB - Over Break

Each agent will be given 15 mins break in every 4 hours. Sometimes, agents who are fond of smoking usually violate the schedule adherence and tend to do Over Break. Imagine going down to the ground floor for a smoke but it'll take time to reach there when you are from the 10th floor.

TingBits

In Visayan term, it's called "ting bitay". Meaning to say, you are running out of money. Usually, agents will say this 2 weeks before payday. Although I haven't experienced it ever because I make sure I follow my budget and if there's an extra then that is meant for leisure spending.

First time to have my own salary

Let's admit it, you apply for a job because you look forward to getting paid. I got hired in July 2015 and I had my first salary the next month. Everyone was so excited to check their debit cards on the ATM and I was so happy to check my salary. It was worth 15k PHP or $300.

For someone who just got her first salary, that's such a huge deal for me. I mean, the sacrifices were worth it. I remember, I called my parents regarding my salary and I promised them that I will buy a flat-screen television (Samsung 32" TV).

I really had a great feeling when I made my parents happy with the salary you get. There were a lot more I was able to be of help in the house like for the construction of the house, and buying stuff for them.

First time going on a bar/nightlife

As a girl living in a province, nightlife or going to a bar was never on my vocabulary.

When the training was over, our wave mates suggested to celebrate our success by having fun in a club. I didn't know that these guys were too aggressive getting drunk. They call themselves "camels" because they are hard drinkers of alcohol.

I remember we went to this place called Mango. It is a famous place where nightlife takes over.

I was just following them, I was with my classmate too so I felt secure. I was with my female wave mates too but to my surprise, they have an extremely high tolerance of alcohol.

When I entered the club, the place was filled with smoke and it was so suffocating. There were people drinking alcohol side to side on each table, some of them were dancing, and a live band was there too which made the place lively.

As an introvert, I would describe it as chaos. Total chaos. Everything is a mess. But what do you expect? It's a club, it's a sanctuary for people who loves hanging out getting drunk.

They began their session and I just watched them drinking. I just ate chips and peanuts. I didn't drink.

One more thing, when I went to the comfort room to pee, Oh Gosh, I couldn't imagine the smell, I almost vomited because of how disgusting it was. So I went out and just stayed outside. I couldn't bear to stay inside and be suffocated.

The sessions became frequent, usually every Friday night. I still go with them but leaves after a while. I couldn't stand the crowd and the noise. The guards almost didn't let me go inside the bar because I looked so young and I have to present my ID to them.

First time getting tipsy

I have never been tipsy or drunk in my entire life until our landlady invited us to celebrate the fiesta with them. Out of respect, we followed her to the place. It was raining hard at that time and I was too concern about me getting hit by lightning because the sky seemed not in favor of me going with them.

We took our dinner, and there the session begins. A guy handed me a glass full of beer without ice. Out of respect, I took it and I didn't mind the first two shots. It tasted good though. As the session continues, I can feel that it's starting to get hot. My classmate's face was getting red.

I could still remember, we were heading to the comfort room to pee and we were just laughing for no reason. We were really under the influence of alcohol at that time. When we got back, I already declined and just settled in.

I almost fell asleep in the chair. What I felt at that time was, my body was too heavy so I couldn't walk straight and I had no sense of direction. I felt so hot. Literally, I was so hot at that time. Everything was too uncomfortable.

We head to our place and slept. I promised myself that I'll never get drunk again. At least, I discovered how was my behavior getting tipsy.

The next article would be my last moments in Cebu. I never expected this would be a series of articles to share but at least I didn't have a hard time thinking of a topic.

Thanks for reading!

Keep safe everyone ❤

By the way, if you haven't watched my latest cover of Beauty and Madness yet, here's the video: