A friend had contacted me this morning asking if I want to work a sideline job, he operates a courier service in Tablas and he needs an operator. Answering queries from clients and working with the riders. Actually, beforehand we already joked him to hire us (his friends) when his business prosper in the island, so I guess that is why he offered me a sideline job.

We talked about the operation, the service charge and etc., then when I accepted it, he asked how about my job which I replied the service is still new so it is not to busy yet, not too many client requesting for riders so it will not be a problem since there will be no meeting yet in the office too and I seldom stayed inside the office as I run various errands outside. He then said, he wanted someone to work just from home, to focus in the operation since he has no office yet, which I replied that he is needing full time operator and not a sideline job, which made him laugh (lol) for his mistake.

In the end I declined the job, since he can’t figure out yet how much I am going to earn being an operator and what he need is actually a sideline fulltime (lol).

Early morning today, while an officemate and friend brought the incoming communication in the office, aplogizes and asked me not to feel bad for not being allowed in their office, she said they were also told not to standby, before I was told by MJ not to do be there. I just smiled and says it is nothing. It was actually nothing, but then I felt something in my gut.

That day, before I was told. Big Boss saw me inside the office using my phone connected to the office wifi. I was there because my boss instructed me to open her email, download the proposal, their utility bills and have them printed,  I was there working and not just sitting like most normal workers do in our workplace (lol). I admit, that it is my norm to standby upstairs, but I only do it after working my ass of and when I am not busy or during lunch break, and even if I stayed there, I don’t just sit and scroll. When I am requested upstairs to do something like going to other office to pick-up or bring documents I followed, and most of the time I offered to answer the telephone.

Anyway, my early errand for today is to do some grocery shopping and when it was completed brought them to my boss house together with the incoming communications they need for the zoom meeting.

When, I went to their home. My boss handed me an ecobag with six Chicken Luncheon meat inside, I was instructed that two of them was mine and then other four goes to the regulars, which made me thankful to her for the little gift.

I just seated in my seat when I received a new text on what to do, I combed my hair first and wipe my sweat before going outside again, I have been perspiring because of the hot weather outside.

It is lunch break right now and I am able to update my blog, I decided to buy and subscribe to magic data offered by Smart Communication so I can browse the internet without going and being connected upstairs when my boss asked me to do something online, and so I will not be mistaken too dilly dallying upstairs. Lol

The local transmission and on-going contact tracing resulted for us to work in skeletal schedule; we worked three (3) times a day per week. At first, I didn’t like my schedule because my friend and I have a different work schedule, but upon realizing I will have a long weekend, I was happy with it.

The first two weeks was very tiring, because there are a lot of things to do on and off the office. My office mates, initially avoided being in contact with me, because they said I go out a lot running errands, so I might be a virus carrier without their knowing. To make things worse I was banned or asked not to go upstairs and stayed in the upstairs office too, it was fine because I can still go upstairs when Mam N was not around (lol), but just a week ago the office was totally closed for everyone with VM’s advice just to be safe, because two (2) government offices were in lock down because of positive cases among the employees.

We did some repacking of goods in the office, actually we helped. Everyone received a sack of rice from their bosses that day, except for me and as expected my office mates teases me a lot and I just smiled with them.

Almost a year after the pandemic the town of Odiongan recorded its first case of Covid-19. It was imported, and there was no panic because the positive case was isolated right away, but everything change almost a month ago when a local transmission occurred in the neighboring town, and then spread like a little fire in Odiongan town.

[Photo courtesy of Bong Gabutero de Villena]

There were already 86 cases, one death and lots of recoveries so far, but since the local transmission started government and other private offices were in skeletal work, some work from home as well, but those jobs that requires collecting of money and meeting a lot of clients everyday was halted until further notice while the contract tracing is still on-going.

[Photo courtesy of Jessa Famero Solano/Bulig sa Tabobo-an]

Filipinos are known to be hospitable and known to be resilient, with the current situation of the Philippines a community pantry emerged in Manila, neighboring cities and now even in Odiongan. Every barangay in the town has their own community pantry where anyone is free take food or household items they need and anyone could drop off whatever food/items they could donate.

The community pantry was a powerful idea of Maginhawa Community Pantry with a theme “Give whatever you can, take only what you need”

I have been working as job order in the local government for more than a year already, but I have no worker’s ID.  It wasn’t required at work, and there wasn’t a memo saying we should get one or a memo requiring us to get one.  I have remembered one time, we went to the HR department to ask about it, but we are told the ID template has to be change so we should just wait for the new template. Then, there was a time we are allowed to get an ID after getting our employee number. I went to the photo shop one afternoon, but I wasn’t catered since I think the owner is already feeling lazy turning on the equipment, I was asked to return the next day, but given my busy life in the office running around for errands I never had the chance to return anymore especially the shop is not a walking distance from my work place.

Pandemic came, still no ID. A year after pandemic started, still no ID and then suddenly again a quarantine pass is needed to go to town. Having no ID I have asked my sister to get me a Worker’s pass if she get hers, but unfortunately she wasn’t able to get me a pass, because whoever releasing the passes in our barangay doesn’t believe I don’t have a worker’s ID. If you are government worker, an ID is enough to pass through the check point according the memo from above.

With this, we decided to rush an ID from the photo shop in town where our LGU is tied up. It was closed and currently not receiving clients, but since one of our workmate is their neighbour we just did it the easiest way, we send our details and photos online, as well as our e-signature. Guess, what my disappointment when I received my ID? The details at the back were wrong, my birthdate, parent’s address and phone number and the signature at the back was not mine.  I have told my workmate about it, and he was told that the shop will give me a new one, but when the new one came instead of being happy I feel so stress out even more, because it has the wrong Employee number! Seriously? The minor errors at the back of the new ID is bearable, but having the wrong Employee number stresses me out  tremendously, so I asked my sister if he can message the shop owner if he can print another ID for me and I will just pay for it, since there was a mistake on the new ID I have received.  Call me vain, but I can’t accept the fact that I have a wrong employee number; it was like I stole someone’s identity or license number if we are talking about a professional identification.

Anyway, I was given a Worker’s pass in our barangay before I am able to rant in my Facebook account. No replied yet from the shop owner. He might be busy or cannot be bothered with my problem.

Last Saturday, I woke up early and went to town before day light to help in the bike marathon sponsored by VM in celebration of his 50^th birthday.  It was a 50km bike race with five (5) categories; they were based on age group.

My office mates and I has their own designation in the marathon, I was assigned at the registration of the younger bikers (19 below) together with an older office mate.  We started the registration as soon we’ve done setting-up the tables and canopies. As expected from the pre-registration done a week ago, 19 below has more joiners,  I think we have around 45 young bikers.

Well, the bikers left five (5) minutes apart by category, and when everyone left to race we move our tables to the finished line, and since we still have ample time left before the bikers returned some of us went to the office to have a breakfast (a cup of coffee and pandesal with peanut butter) courtesy of an older office mate. The bikers returned early than expected, I had a trouble recording some of the bikers time in my category, not because they are too many, but because some bikers lost their numbers and it was hard to know who they are. You know what, I have raised this problem at the orientation asking if it is possible the bikers will also have number at their back, but we are told it will not be a problem because the bikers group will be there to help us, they will announced the number of approaching biker so we can hear and your guess is right as mine, it never happened when some bikers number were lost along the way.

There was instance I have to kneel just to see the number of approaching biker, that’s how hard to get the bikers numbers. Well, don’t ask for my partner because she is doing her own thing. Initially, she told me that she will record or video everything, but in one minute we all saw her becoming a medic, someone’s assistant and a caterer eerrr server, giving snacks to the bikers.

Anyway, the marathon ended well. We had a group picture, and when I returned to the table where left my documents they were nowhere to be found and then I overheard one of my office mate saying all the folders were keep in the container. The inner me is saying to check if my folder was there, but I am too tired to be bothered.

Monday came, and I was asked for my records as there are some bikers wanted to know their travel time, it turns it wasn’t in the container. Yep, it was missing and nowhere to be found. I already asked everyone, but no one is voicing out. It was a good thing, I have the habit of taking pictures of every important files. It was late in the afternoon when I was called by an older office mate, it turns out he has my folder, maybe he accidentally took it.

It was been almost two months since our province was ordered to be in Enhanced Community Quarantine, lots of things had happened. The ECQ was extended for a month after 15 days of being under it, then General Community Quarantine came over for 15 days and on the 16th of May the GCQ will be modified.

On the first week of the Enhanced Community Quarantine everyone was still adjusting, no public transports, some restaurants, offices and other establishments were closed. After a week of ECQ all job orders in our office were asked to report to help in repacking of goods, but unfortunately I didn’t comply because it wasn’t that easy as 123, I have no quarantine pass and either my father because one member in a family is only allowed to go outside to buy food and medicines, my sister has the pass so she can easily buy milk and diapers for my niece as well as other necessities at home, I don’t know how to drive which means I have to walk 9 to 10 kilometres every day (back and forth), and I have a vulnerable mother and a baby niece in our home. There were a lot of PUM’s (Person under Monitoring) and PUI’s (Person under Investigation) at that time so their safety is my number one priority, as we cannot afford to get sick.

A week of ECQ (21th of April) helped came over from the barangay for the affected workers of the pandemic, my carpenter father received a bag of relief goods composed of 2.4 kilos of rice, 2 cans of sardines, 2 packed of instant noodles, 1 small can of corned beef, a packed of coffee, one sachet of bath soap and a laundry soap, within a family of five with four adult, the rice will be good for three meals or one day only, small help but it is better than nothing, and still a blessing to be thankful for.

A week after, my father received a relief good from the local government or from our municipality, inside the bag is about 7.2 kilos of rice, 4 cans of sardines, 2 cans of hot and spicy tuna, one kilo of dried fish with tomatoes.

The next day, my sister was also given a relief good, wait rephrase she went to the temporary barangay hall to collect a relief good, as the barangay is giving relief goods to every family or workers with family that wasn’t able to received yet. The bag has 5 cans of spicy sardines, 3 sachet of brown coffee and about 4.8 kilos of rice.

Then after two weeks, my sister had also her share of relief good from the municipal government which is composed of 7.2 kilos of rice, 4 cans of sardines, 1 can of corned beef and a can of spicy tuna, but hey that’s not all, there was also a kilo of dried fish, tomatoes and one piece of cucumber in a separate bag.

Don’t ask about me, I am not qualified to receive help because I don’t have my own family neither a husband (so mean), I wish they realized I am also human being capable of eating (joke).

Then nothing more, I mean no more relief goods from the local government, but my sister received groceries from their cooperative which I am not able to take pictures, as some of them were already eaten/ cooked before I know it.

When the pandemic and ECQ started, three of us stopped working, luckily we had a continued wages with the order of the national government, my monthly wages cannot raise a family and spending on a baby’s milk and diapers, our budget wasn’t enough, but a little something is better than nothing at all.

We are in provincial rate, but the prices of commodities in our province are much more expensive than the commodities you can buy in Manila.

Anyway would like to say, thank you to our Mayor and to other local officials for the help (relief goods) during the ECQ.

Life is really so ironic, that’s why to enjoy things while they are good and just be strong when things are not good.  Looking back, almost seven years ago I felt being left behind, my friends and classmates were already professionals, some of them were teachers, nurses, engineers and etc., while me was just a wife and a blogger who earned from my own little life.  I am happy, but secretly I want to be like them, I want to have a career, I want to be a professional too.

Fast forward, today I am professional like I wanted to be, but I am not happy. I lost everything I had when I wish to be like them, regrets are late and I can’t turn back the time nor wake up like it was just a dream. Life was really so ironic, me wanting more made me lost everything. Indeed, you can’t really have a cake and eat it too!

Honestly, there are times depression is eating me in, the desire of wanting to reset my life and start from the very start again is bugging me. I wanted to correct the bad choices I make, and to avoid the wrong people I have met in my so called life, but the sad truth resetting my life only means dying because time machines were not actually real.

Odiongan as the center of trade and commerce in the Province of Romblon, had come a long way towards progress and development.

 

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ATM Launching of Tourism Tagline Logo #VibrantOdiongan, YourHeart, YourHome, YourFuture and the presentation of the new official seal. #VisitRomblonIslands #Odiongan #OdionganRomblon #Odiongantourism #odionganph #odiongan❤️

A post shared by Herz (@hyannec) on Oct 10, 2019 at 7:24pm PDT

Today,   Padyak para sa Kalikasan and  the tourism tagline and logo #VibrantOdiongan (Your Heart Your Home Your Future)  was launched and the new seal of the Municipality of Odiongan was also unveiled and presented at Odiongan Park Plaza in the leadership of Mayor Trina with the Sangguniang Bayan Members.

The event was attended by employees from different department and offices, as well as private individuals. As the master of ceremony jokingly says the launching was a grandiose event as Mayor Trina provided snacks for everyone (lol).

Nothing much to write right now, it was been a long time since I dragged myself to write something in my blog and I am currently remembering how to write again. #lmao