Being an SSE…one year and counting

It’s been a year now since I assumed the SSE role. Thank God I reached this far. J For the first 5 months, it was only just a title simply because during those months, I was doing BSA tasks instead of assuming the role and getting to know my added responsibilities full time. It was only 4 months ago when I started to feel that I’m really that…an SSE. When I was done with my BSA task, I was a bit lost on how to go about my role. It was somewhat hard on my part because too many people have joined the team but I was not there when each one of them came on board. I only got to know them at times when our meetings were held at KPT (meetings were usually held at OSMA) or when they add me as contact in MSN. I really felt I was the newcomer because I saw they have already bonded and all. But then, eventually, I was able to fit in.Getting a promotion means salary increase (if your salary is still not in the bracket of your JG), but it also means added responsibilities. In my experience, to be an SSE means:

• Attending several officer’s meetings usually on a weekly basis and usually lasts for more than an hour per meeting
• Doing WBS (technical analysis, estimates and timelines)
• Lead in projects and/or CRFs
• Having to do on the spot decisions regarding projects
• Joining in con calls with clients
• Haggle with BSAs about deadlines, technical designs, delieverables and resource allocation
• All issues in all projects are your problems, unlike when you are simply a developer, your only concern is the task assigned to you
• Coaching your teammates (like really having to sit down with them to solve some unimaginable bugs in the system)
• Doing admin stuff
• Taking care of deliverables when the TM is not around
• Etc., etc., etc. (the list goes on)

It was a very challenging journey. It has its ups and downs. Sometimes it gets stressful and so I don’t get to enjoy it. But other than that, it was also a worthwhile experience and an opportunity for growth.

There may be days that I slacked off but I know I did my best most of the time. At times, I may not have pleased my direct reports but still, I know I did my best and in most of my decisions, they were my priority more than the client. I may not be that great a leader but I am working on it.

Now, I’m looking forward to another fruitful year filled with lessons and opportunities that will make it more enjoyable.

Parties Galore

Finally, all of the office parties are completed. :) Much as I have enjoyed it, I’m glad that those are over haha. I’m fine with parties but not so much with the tasks that come with it like dressing up and buying gifts. Shopping is not so fun if you are looking for something that’s out of this world just to conform to the costume requirements hehe. As for gift ideas, it’s hard to select something that’s not gender specific and that anyone can use. Besides, every year, the gift ideas that the malls display are just the same hehe. Only a few items are added every year.

So in order, below are the parties we had for 3 consecutive days.

December 14, 2007: Team Party

It was team dinner and exchange of major gifts. We had a monito-monita wherein we had to give a small gift 3 times to our drawn name. For the final gift though, the receiver will give a gift to the giver so we had to guess who our givers were. We also gave out certificates for the following awards:

• Rookie of the Year
• Best Engineer of the Year
• Mentor of the Year
• Spirit of Service

This time, I and a teammate did most of the work. But it was fun nonetheless because it’s shopping hihi. Plus seeing the team having a great time was worth it. Tiring nga lang haha.

December 15: Year End Party

It was held at SM MOA SMX. The place was ok but I guess it was not enough for our company’s population. Our team was responsible for the registration and ticket validation, but the task was delegated to some of my teammates so I’m free hihi (It was my turn last year). The raffle prizes were good but unfortunately, no one from our team won huhu. Nagpakahirap pa naman kami sa Raffle System. Olats. Anyway, it was not so tiring this time. After the party, we went straight to Blue Wave for coffee.

December 16: IS & IT Christmas Party

I won in the raffle! Haha. Yep, I won a Canon digital camera. But I decided to sell it and just buy a portable DVD hihihi.

We had it at DADS so buffet style. Kaso medyo late na kaming dumating so di naming natikman lahat lalo na yung dessert! Huhu. Wala nang leche flan at cheesecake.

It was nice to meet the people from IT and put faces to some of the names we usually exchange emails with.

So that’s it. Three days straight of food, fun and partying! Life is great. :)

Christmas Wish List

I have written some not-so-unattainable-in-the-near-future wish lists last October but here’s another one, simpler this time hehe.

• Another mug for water in the office. But I already got one from HR-Payroll. Thanks HR. :)
• Evans rubber shoes pang-uwi sa Baguio
• Office shoes, black
• Any book on finance and investment
• Ipod Nano 3rd gen black. Already bought one for myself. Budget curtesy of my 13th month pay hihi.
• Portable DVD. Para di boring pag long trips.
• Victoria’s Secret Honeysuckle belle, sweet temptation, secret crush (body wash, lotion and body spray)
• Learn to speak in Spanish CD
• A clone of ... hihihi!

Yan lang. Mas gusto ko talaga may matupad sa 1st batch ng wish list ko hehe.
Happy holidays everyone!

Villa Escudero tour

I just got back from Villa Escudero. I was invited to attend another team’s team building which was a day tour of Villa Escudero. Shortly before 7 AM this morning, we were already traveling south bound. We had dinner in one of the gasoline stations on the way. By 10 AM, we reached the villa. We were greeted by the employees and were served a refreshing iced tea. After registration, we started the tour right away. First stop was at the museum. There were a lot to see, from the preserved animals, jewelries, old coins, porcelains, old household tools and furnitures to the saya and barong tagalong of past presidents. I’m still wondering how they got those. Most of the items in the museum are I guess a part of the collection of the Escudero family.

After some picture taking (with the ever famous jumps hehe), we had the carabao tour. Our carabao’s name is Ligaya. There’s one named Pogi and he’s white, different from the conventional black carabao. The tour stopped at the lunch area so we had lunch at the man-made falls and river where your feet are submerged in the water! Cool!

After lunch, we rushed to go bamboo rafting. We did just 1 round because it was quite hard to maneuver the bamboo raft and we got tired easily.

At 2PM, there was a cultural presentation. I was a critique for the part where they presented the Igorot dances and traditions hehe because there were some that were not done the right way. But overall, it was a great entertainment and a refresher course for me haha.
3:30 PM to around 5 PM was swimming time for others. I opted not to swim though. Aside from the fact that I’m not so much a fan of the pool (or waters in general), I don’t know how to swim. Hihi. I used the time to exchange stories with an ex-officemate who met us there because they were also there to visit a relative. I learned something from him about someone. Hmp! Haha. Langya. Affected pa rin akech? Echos!

We left the place at 6 PM, had dinner somewhere along the way and were back in Manila at around 9:30 PM.

It was a great and fun day. Thanks to the team for the invitation. Sa uulitin. :)