Tuesday, April 28, 2009

My April DTR

As a government worker, one is obliged to fill in one's daily time records (DTR) in coming to and leaving the office in the morning and afternoon. My April DTR looks clean at a glance. I have had so many leaves of absences aside from the declared holidays for the month. I took so many vacations. One week at home and another week in Baguio City where my daughter is now having her summer classes.

When it was time for me to report to work for this last week, I feel a little bit lazy of getting up in the morning since I may have been used to getting up late for the past couple of weeks.

Government workers are entitled to simple perks. In a year, one can have 3 days privilege leaves, 5 days forced leaves and one can have sick leaves, unlimited, provided you have enough leave balances. One earns a total of 15 days vacation leave credits and 15 days sick leave credits a year. In my case, for the past 3 years, I started consuming my accrued leave credits by taking leaves every now and then. Not knowing that I am already exhausting my vacation leave credits, I am afraid I can't enjoy another perk this year, of monetizing my VL credits, converting it into money value.

Living in the province and being employed in a government agency is enough for simple people like me. But when you are in a position where it's considered as a dead-end career, that's your the end. Ha ha ha.

Finishing a master's degree is even not enough guarantee that you may be promoted to a much coveted higher position. Maybe, changing or taking another career path may satisfy your thirst for a career growth and development.

Last month, I am contemplating of taking a new career path, but it seems, my age would hamper me. I am already old enough to be accommodated in another kind of work; hence, after consulting with my husband, we both decided that I stay where I am now. Maximize my potentials when I can be needed. In fact, I feel bored and unchallenged this time. There's no room for career growth and development, and even the possibility of attending seminars for our work improvement could not be done, may be due to limited funds.

I envy those states where government workers are salaried much higher than in our country. They have more perks than we have. I have an aunt who was a federal government worker in the US. She related to me how convenient and how well they are given benefits while they work and after retirement. There's no thought or room for them to resort to graft and corruption because they are paid well enough.

I can now see why in our country, even the lowest rank of government employees are tempted to corrupt. It is because their salary for a month is not really enough to support a family of three, is not even enough to send a child to school until college, is not even enough to save for hospitalization and medicines, is not even enough to put up a decent abode for his family, is not even enough to buy a decent three square meals a day, is not even enough to buy decent clothes for the whole family and is not even enough to afford a decent kind of living in general.

My April DTR only shows one simple perk a government worker can have like me. Aside from that, there are no other greater benefits one can have, save for the very low salary one earns in a month.

Election is a few months away. May the Filipino people be wise enough this time to elect a president who is 100% willing to save the poor plight of government workers.

I Want to Write. . .

While browsing through others' blogsites, I was indeed inspired to write more and more. But planning to write of so many things keeps me even lazy to start the work. Because, I want to write. . .

  • About life, the amazing journeys one can have through life; they may be wonderful, they may be fantastic or they may be the opposite, meaning, sad, disappointing and not worth living for;
  • About people; the true, the great, the heroes, the common people, the ordinary ones; their achievements, their failures and what it takes to live as a human creature;
  • About dreams; what makes them, what they mean, what message they want to send and why we dream;
  • About love; the mysteries of it, and what makes it a unique writer's subject matter;

Yes, I want to write about so many things, but I only have to write of things that may suddenly inspire me, of things that may give meaning to my existence. I may be a vague writer, but I can write.

Friday, April 17, 2009

A Dream

I think I shall write books, and get rich and famous; that would suit me, so that is my favorite dream.

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Congratulations, Son!

(the following post has been a long overdue one, but I still want to post it, anyway………)

Three days from now and my son will be marching up the stage to receive his high school diploma, a manifestation that he was able to hurdle the four years of high school education. Soon, two of my kids will already be in college, his big sister, an upcoming 3rd year BS Psychology student at SLU Baguio City. Soon, he will be joining his sister in Baguio City. Soon, he will be experiencing college life. Soon, he will be apportioning his bigger allowance than what he has when he was in high school. Soon, he will be tending to himself; washing his own clothes, cooking his own food, doing his own assignment, cleaning his own room, and doing all the necessary stuff for himself.

How time flies so fast. A few years back, he was just a naïve little boy very much pampered by his parents. Now he's already a grown up man, ready to embrace a larger world; a world full of ups and downs, a world where one's tenacity is tested. A world where one can have the worst and the best.

Son, whatever are your dreams in life, reach for them. Be rest assured that we will always be behind you. We will continue to backstop you, if only to realize your grand dreams in life. Burn your candles! Paddle your own canoe! Hitch your wagon to a star! Again, congratulations for being able to finish another ladder in your education.