My First Week at OCS

I apologize for this long entry. It's worth a week's journal rolled into a single entry. hehehe... Just read it if you have lots of free time. =)
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Whew! I can't believe it, but I've actually survived my first week at OCS - Oberthur Card Systems - yup, that's the new company where I'm working now. I can say it's been a great week for me. I feel so welcome in my new office. Well, it actually looks like an Enterworks extension with Dadi Joey, Alvin, Mikko and Anet around. hehehe...I was supposed to start last Monday. Thanks to GMA, I had one more day to rest.

Tuesday
I had to wake up at 6AM to get ready and arrive before 8:30AM in the office. I need to make some adjustments since I get used to arriving at the office at 10AM. I had to wear something formal, too. On my way, I was feeling a bit nervous entering my new workplace. I also had to get used to riding the elevator longer since I'm now getting off at the 26th floor! (I hope there would be no fire-drills in the near future. heheh)

But since it's my first day, I need to pass by 27th floor first where the HR office is. It was 8:25AM on my watch and I was really in a hurry. Only to find out that there was no one yet in the reception area. And I can't come in since I don't have a proximity card yet. huhuhuh... I waited for 15 minutes outside, pacing to and fro or going to the washroom and back to glass door again. Finally, the receptionist arrived.

I still had to wait for the HR Manager. She arrived at around 9:30AM. There's another guy who's also starting on the same day. The HR manager asked both of us to fill up several forms for the HR records, payroll and HMO. When we're finally done filling out the forms, she gave us an orientation about the policies of the company. She also introduced us to the people on the 27th floor. I'm glad to see there one of my professors back in college...and he still remembers me. Cool!

The HR manager then led us to the 26th floor where the R & D department is located. She endorsed us to Alvin to provide us our machines. My team lead was kind enough to assist me in setting up my machine. He doesn't want to be called "sir" so I simple call him Axel. Alvin also introduced me to the intranet where the technical documents can be found. I'll be needing those to familiarize myself with the projects. I spent the rest of my afternoon reading some documents from the intranet, mostly software requirements specifications.

I left the office at 5:30. (early! hehehe) I passed by Enterworks to join them for merienda and get some stuff from Ms. Miget.

Wednesday
My mom made sure I get up before 6AM. Hmm...I'm starting to get used to it. So there, I arrived in the office at 8:30AM. Axel was already there when I arrived. We had breakfast in our little pantry. There were no iced tea or lemonade but we had Starbucks coffee. Nice!
After a little chat over breakfast, it's now time for me to install several software I'll be needing. Axel assisted me also during the installation of the 3 softwares needed for simulation and testing.

I had lunch with Dadi Joey, Alvin, Mommy Weng and Tabel at the 2nd floor of SCB bldg. Then I passed by Enterworks to give them the copy of the pictures from last friday's gimmiks.

When I went back to the office, I just realized it was cold in my place. brrr... and I have no jacket. =( I had to endure the cold while doing the test data that Axel asked me to create. I needed to come up with 50 names and aliases for my test data, so I searched for a site that automatically generates names. I successfully found one and it made my task so much easier. But as I was searching for websites I happened to come across this site which allows you to discover the hidden meanings behind your names. Here's the link: http://www.bostonuk.com/names/default.asp. I was curious to know the hidden meaning behind my name so I immediately typed it in. Here's what I've found:

DorothyGift of God : Greek

Sensitive, friendly and kind you look for peace and beauty in your environment and relationships. People like to be around you because of your charm and generosity and because you always generate a happy atmosphere. You have a fairly traditional approach to life and have a strong attachment to home, family and loved ones. With your creative imagination you have potential to be successful in the arts.

Wow! That's amazing! Go try and see what your name means. Let me know ok?

I was just glad to be able to finish the test data creation before I went home.

Thursday
I left the house a little earlier than usual. Unfortunately, there was no shuttle available. I waited for 45 minutes before one finally arrived. When we're already in Alabang, it was so traffic! I just closed my eyes and attempted to sleep so as not to constantly look at my watch and grow impatient. When I woke up, we’re already at Amorsolo. Lo and behold! There were a lot of LTO officers waiting for us. Talk about not-so-good days! Our driver told the LTO officers that he’s working for CAP and his passengers are clients attending a seminar while others are claimants. The LTO officers asked us if we’re really going to CAP. Some answered yes, but since I don’t want to lie I just pretended I was still asleep. There was quite a long talk before the officers finally decided to let us go. Yup, we might have escaped them but all of us had to get off in front of CAP bldg. Great! I had to walk from there going to Rufino, and it was already 8:30! I was already late. =(

Oh well, I know I can’t do anything about that so I just had to accept the fact that I was 15 minutes late. Then, I just had to let go of that bad feeling. I promised myself I’ll leave the house earlier the following day.

My team lead was not in the office yet when I arrived. Somehow I was relieved. (hehehe…) When he came, he asked me to read the software requirements specs of one of the projects. To make me understand it better, he also handed me a Nokia phone (don’t know the model, but it’s a nice one) so that I could have a user experience of the application.

In the afternoon, I had to swap phones with my other team mate. He gave me a Panasonic phone instead (not sure what model either). I actually liked it better than the Nokia. At about 4pm, Noel, one of our French boss who’s a technical guy, called me for a meeting together Mikko, the manager of another project. He told me that I’d be assigned in Mikko’s project and he also gave me an overview of the said project. It was actually quite big and complicated. After the short meeting, Mikko handed me the software requirement specs (SRS) so that I could familiarize myself better. He was also kind enough to provide me with the office supplies like notebook, pen, highlighter, stapler and binder. Thanks Mikks!

I left the office before 7pm since we still have our cell group meeting, which was supposedly last Monday.

Friday
Guess what? I was already in Makati at 7:45! I kept my promise. Hehehe… I was the third person to arrive in the office. I had breakfast first while checking my emails. After some time, Noel entered our room and he greeted me with a handshake. He always does that in the morning. I’ve found out from him that it was their custom in France.

I was reading the SRS for almost the entire day. Fortunately, I saw a PowerPoint presentation from the intranet and somehow it helped me visualize the project. The documentation was really not that good and it was quite hard for me to understand some of the things written there. I’ve told Mikko regarding that and he said he would just explain it to me little by little next week. I said, “That would be really great!” I think I’d really have a headache if I continue reading that document without somebody explaining it to me. I’m just glad my team mates were all so supportive and very willing to help me understand.

I left the office at around 6pm since I still need to pass by Enterworks for my exit interview. When I got there, I had a chat with Ate Ning because she wanted to know how I was doing with my new job. I think it took us some time to exchange stories. When I finally said I needed to talk with Ms. Miget, I noticed that she’s just about to leave. Uh-oh… Anyways, I still had some chat with Ms. Miget before she left. She told me to just return again on Monday.

I just waited for Mommy Weng and Tabel to finish up their tasks. We’d be going to Mama Sand’s (an ex-Enterworks employee, too.) house in Marikina to have a little celebration for passing her thesis. Yehey! Rene’s also with us, but unfortunately Joy said she can’t come since their family is heading to Tagaytay the following day.

Dadi Joey was already waiting for us at the parking area. We rode at Tabel’s car and passed by the Sebastian’s house at Kapitolyo to pick up the kids – Juwan and Jin.

We didn’t encounter much traffic so we arrived at Marikina at around 8pm. It’s nice to see Karl again (Mama Sand’s one and only son). He’s grown to be a healthy and intelligent boy. Just like when we visited their house last December, we stayed again at the roof-top area. They have a lovely house and I like the view from there. But this time, the weather is quite humid unlike last Christmas season, when we even have to wear jackets. We had pizza, chicken (and rice), and donuts (which taste like gonuts-donuts). I was really starving since I didn’t have merienda in the afternoon, so I ate quite a lot (I admit that. Hehehe…).

After resting for some time, Mama Sands brought out the Magic Sing – yep, it’s videoke time! Dadi Joey gave the first song number. I didn’t know he’s a fan of Westlife. He knows almost all of their songs! I’m not sure who sang next. I think it’s Mama Sands who’s a good singer, being the owner of the Magic Sing (hehehe...) but actually, she came from a musically-inclined family that’s why. We’re taking note of who scores the highest, and try to beat it to make it more fun.

They’re asking me to sing, but I refused since I still have colds and cough. I think I was not good at making excuses or maybe they’re just so supportive of me they said I can still sing. Rene even told me that since I have the talent, I should share it. (Hmmm… makes me think if I really have a talent like that. Hehehe) Okay, just to be fair… I finally sang. I was able to sing 3 songs inspite of it all, before we called it a night. Dadi Joey was teasing me and said that I should sing on our Christmas party. Oh please…I only sing in the shower. Hehehe =)

It was a fun night, really. Tabel was the clown of the night, as always. I just can’t forget her very own rendition of “Hiram”. Rene also gave us the pleasure by singing even just one song. Mommy Weng was the top scorer of the night, with a 97! Now, she will never be ashamed to sing anymore. Go Mommy!

Tabel was kind enough to take the Sebatian family to their residence in Kapitolyo. She said she’d also drive me to my cousin’s house in Manila. But before that, we still have to pass by the office to get her laptop since she still had to upload something in Perforce. It was already 1AM when we reached the Enterworks office. I got a chance to see Augs, who’s currently assigned in the night-shift for PS.

I arrived at my cousin’s house at 1:30AM. Both my cousin and sister were already asleep. Just fixed myself, said my prayers and thanked God for the wonderful week that I’ve had before I finally tuck myself in bed. I just thought of my new job… well, it looks really interesting and challenging. I just hope I could meet their expectations. It may sound cliché but I’ll say it anyway…I know I just got to "do my best, and let God do the rest." =)