My First Day

My first day on training went really well.

I woke up to the sound of my phone’s alarm. Okay, I hit snooze once. 🙂 Then I had a really nice breakfast of leftover KFC chicken with a few spoonfuls of rice. I made it to my new office building with ten minutes to spare – though in this case it was necessary because I still have to put my name on the logbook and get a trainee pass, no badge of my own just yet.

My old/new boss Ruth welcomed me in and introduced my to my trainer. We then walked down to the ops floor where she introduced me to some of my new teammates. It was a mix of new and a few old familiar (and welcoming) faces. 🙂 We talked a bit about what I’m getting into (nothing that got me thinking twice about proceeding though :)) and then I was off to join my class.

First impressions:

  • – I like the layout of their training rooms! The facilitator can see everybody and the trainees have an unobstructed view of him/her and the projector screen. It’s also not friendly for unauthorized Internet browsing – everyone can see what you’re doing! The projector screen has its own push-button (to pull up or down) too. I wish I had a room like that as a trainer. Oh, and you wouldn’t have to shout to be heard all around the room. And the best thing is that it wasn’t freezing cold in that room. 🙂
  • – The downside, noise from the next room can get quite distracting. But this is only if they’re making extra noise such as the weird/absurd laughing we heard today.
  • – The pantry looks nice and doesn’t smell bad. The food selection from two concessionaires weren’t that appealing, but priced very reasonably. I had sisig, rice and Coke Zero 500ml for lunch all for 85 pesos. Unfortunately, the sisig at SD was better than that. There’s a Country Style Deli there, along with a few other kiosks, but they all were closed. Looks like they open at peak hours only. I would have preferred a sandwich or a salad from Country Style just then, I bet it would transport me right back to The Loop (let’s reminisce on my Country Style lunches of Chicken Sandwich). 🙁
  • – I think I’ve made at least one new friend, maybe more. We’ll see.
  • – There’s nowhere to tambay on your break/lunchtime. I miss being able to go to Starbucks, or The Loop and MIP. Ahh, and the food options again…
  • – The floor is really really nice. Ganda ng setup! The agent stations have a lot of space. Not too happy about the OM stations though, talk about being in the center of everything, on a platform too! Haha.

The ride to work took about 10-15 minutes and that includes stops for the red lights. I hope it’s always that quick but I have a feeling it won’t. I think the cab driver was surprised when I told him where I was going. I still called World, and he was probably expecting to take me to ABS kasi bubuwelta na sana sya pagsakay ko. My taxi fare is about 20-30 pesos more today than what I normally used to pay, that’s to and from work already so it’s not so bad really.

And I did enjoy training. 🙂

I look forward to completing this in two weeks, and then the work will really have to start.

I appreciate how my boss is doing what she can to make this transition easy for me. My first day could have easily been an ordeal if she wasn’t around, and this whole experience of moving and starting new would have been more difficult. Of course it’s just the first day so it’s too early to tell, but things are looking up and if we can assume things based on first impressions, I’m in for a really good time. 🙂

How was your first day of the week?