The Twins invoked

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Well, training's about to end and I've got a sizable amount of information that I'll need for planning and prognostication. Yes, money talks and when it does, you'd do well to listen.

I'm hoping that a short talk with Payroll will clear up some questions about why I'm still missing a fourth of my salary from January.

Come Monday, I'll do a lot of legwork so I can restart my career as a Licensed Physical Therapist. I miss treating patients in the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Dept and it shows in how I let my co-workers easily nudge me into doing muscle manipulations. [shakes head in rueful recollection] What the hey, [smiles ruefully] I am what I am.

There're bonds that need my attention for those bonds are what make me. Bonds borne of choice are the ones that require more care, yet they're the ones that stand the tests of time. I will nurture those that I've created and stride forward. I wield Freedom & Destiny and they will stand guard over what I hold dear.

Come next payday, I'll have the means to purchase some of my wants and needs. Of course, proper consideration must be done to ensure proper expenditures.

Come, dear close friends. We shall celebrate soon.

Hear, members of the House I was borne in, I move forward towards my goals.

Be warned, mine enemies, I shall lay waste upon you and yours.

"Sing, Freedom".

"Dance, Destiny".

Mixed bags of goodies

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I've passed Accent training, with the reminder that I'm to sound less robotic & more human [smirks]. That I've passed even with my colds was a relief since I didn't have to commit seppuku. I'm not fixated on dying but I do dislike being helpless. Anyhow, I'm on the second week of Product training & I've been getting relatively good remarks from our foreign trainer (who is the subject of impersonations, which mostly produce hilarity) because of the insight I've displayed during the times he conducted our class to the point that he can somehow predict my responses. That simply means he avoids asking me for answers to his questions [smirks in amusement]. I got crappy grades from our first assessment but I've redeemed myself with the second. However, to pass Product training, I've to get at least TWO perfect scores to offset the first failure, if my calculations are correct. In addition, our foreign trainer told me that I take way too long to deliver a point, which means I'll probably spend a lot more time in a call than needed or usual. I already asked our Quality Assessor to help me with that and she did make a small grunt of consent (which I'll have to follow up). This gig isn't that different from performing my Physical Therapist's responsibilities. The methodology is still customer service-oriented, I'm just hitting a different class of consumers. So, I've to give it my best here & now. If I don't pass, I don't get into production, which means I WON'T get paid. I need the money to pay off the rent and I need money to keep on living in this way. Ergo, no money equals seppuku. ~~~ I've been doing some canvassing & I've found a phone that fits my requirements. The Motorola W231 got my attention when I went canvassing and it fits my budget. Way cool. ^_^

 ~~~

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjOFgXRoPWw&feature=related

 That is the URL for the concise version of Katee & Joshua's hip-hop rendition of Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown's "No air". This is from the "So you think you can dance" series' fourth season. Katee Shean is HOT!!! ^_^ That was a random fan-boy remark. ~~~ I just found out last night (or early morning, depending on who you're talking to) that my 2100-0600H schedule will be in effect 'til January 30. Yehey for more night diff pay. Boo for the enforced continued seclusion and separation from my friends and PT job. I went to the Rehab dept I was attached to last Saturday (01/17/09) & I was much disappointed with my performance (or lack thereof). I slept through most of the day (what with me being awake from Friday 01/16/09) and I was still unable to do what I expected of myself, which was to treat some patients, nap while not treating patients and then go home after repeating that cycle of treat patients then nap. I was only able to treat ONE patient in the morning and then I was useless for the rest of the day. I wasn't able to help with one of our regular patients (that SCI patient is showing promise since he's now able to stand with assistance) AND I had to endorse a patient to an intern because I was too drowsy. [raises hands to heaven in frustration] The humility & embarrassment! So, I've talked to the PT supervisor & told him that I won't count that day as a day I rendered service and that I'll resume my volunteer activities once I'm using my production schedule. I thought I'd be living that schedule on the last week of January, but no joy. [shrugs] The night diff (which is an extra 20% paid for working ungodly hours) is a fair-enough exchange but I'd rather go for the production schedule since it lets me sleep normally and gives me time to treat patients. Now, I have to update people that I'll have to hack it out some more, until 01/30/09. [shrugs] C'est la vie. I'll be back to the Rehab dept to continue giving exemplary licensed (volunteer) Physical Therapy!

~~~

 I went IntarWebz surfing so I can refresh myself with songs from Mai Kuraki (or Kuraki Mai since Japanese put their surnames first). I love "Always" because it's so upbeat. "Happy days" is so sweet and it's evocative of those good times I had with the women I loved. Here's "Lion" by May'n & Megumi Nakajima from Macross Frontier. Lyrics and translation were done by Darkmirage (http://www.darkmirage.com/, a reliable source of translations and fan-boy stuff).

For the OP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qWnDqeXMhA&NR=1 For the full version of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7Aluup6lKs For the song's lyrics & translation, here it is. Lion May'n & Megumi Nakajima (singing as Sheryl Nome & Ranka Lee) hoshi wo mawase sekai no mannaka de kushami sureba dokoka no mori de chou ga ranbu kimi ga mamoru doa no kagi detarame hazukashii monogatari nameatte mo raion ha tsuyoi Turn the stars at the centre of the world. If you sneeze, a butterfly in a forest somewhere will dance. The door you guard has a useless key. It's an embarrassing story. Though they often lick one another, lions are strong. ikinokoritai ikinokoritai mada ikiteitaku naru seiza no michibiki de ima mitsumeatta I want to survive. I want to survive. I still can't stop wanting to live. Guided by the constellations, our eyes met. ikinokoritai tohou ni kurete kirari kareteyuku honki no karada misetsukeru made watashi nemuranai I want to survive. I am at a loss, Gently withering away. But until I show you my true self, I will not sleep. kaze ha yagate higashi e mukau darou koukiatsu kono hoshi no hyouga wo osou sasoi mizu wo nonda mune ga tsurai toomaki na monogatari kajiriau hone no oku made Will the winds blow east one day? High atmospheric pressure attacks this planet's frozen rivers. My chest hurts from the sip of alluring water I took. It's a story seen from a distance. Gnaw at each other till the bones. ikinokoritai ikinokoritai mada ikiteitaku naru seiza no michibiki de ima mitsumeatta I want to survive. I want to survive. I still can't stop wanting to live. Guided by the constellations, our eyes met. ikinokoritai tohou ni kurete kirari kareteyuku honki no karada misetsukeru made watashi nemuranai I want to survive. I am at a loss, Gently withering away. But until I show you my true self, I will not sleep. nani shini umareta no nani shini koko ni iru What were we born to do? What are we here to do? ikinokoritai umaranai hizu hikari osoreteta yurusaretai inochi ga ima hikareatta I want to survive. This permanent scar. I used to fear the light. The lives seeking redemption were drawn to one another. samayoi hatete kimi no tonari de hoterishizumetai honki no karada misetsukeru made watashi nemuranai I want to stop prowling, And settle down next to you bashfully. Until I show you my true self, I will not sleep. ikinokoritai gakebbuchi de ii kimi wo aishiteru mezametai inochi ga ima hikareatta I want to survive. Even as a nobody. I love you. The lives waiting for awakening were drawn to one another. kyouki ni kaete inori sasagu yo kimi wo aishiteru seiza no michibiki de In place of my wildness, I shall offer a prayer. I love you. Constellations, please guide me... ikinokoritai mada ikitetai kimi wo aishiteru honki no kokoro misetsukeru made watashi nemuranai I want to survive. I still want to live. I love you. Until I show you my true feelings, I will not sleep.

Resolve

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Time moves so slowly, as if I'm swimming through a colloid solution while wearing 5 kilo ankle & wrist weights on my arms & legs. There's the periodic adrenaline rush brought by panic, anxiety & trepidation borne from the realization that my current situation is strictly sink or swim, win or lose, do or die. That I've estranged myself from my immediate family's resources means that the effects of Murphy's Law will be more quickly & forcefully felt, making each mistake the probable last since I've decided to commit seppuku should I fail. I could always ditch my stint in the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation department that I'm attached to so I'd have more time to rest, but I chose this particular path because it would let me earn a living AND practice as a licensed Physical Therapist so I can NOT divorce myself from that Rehab department I'm serving.

I've made contingency plans to cover my a$$ but I've need of a steady source of pecuniary resources to make those plans feasible. I've entertained the thought of buying an electronic leisure material (either a PC or a PSP), but I'll decide AFTER I get regularized since the money would be VERY tight until then. The more immediate desire to be fulfilled that I've set my sights on is a phone/MP3 player that I've yet to buy. I've canvassed the stores prior to the start of my job at this call center, but I haven't seen the model I wish to acquire.

I'll see this through.

I'll win.

Thermal and other stuff

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COLD!!!!

This work-place I'm currently in is COLD! I'm going to need my jacket if I'm going to pass Accent training. The cold clogs up my nostrils, which means my pronunciation goes out the window the moment I stop breathing normally. Ergo, JACKET!!! I -NEED- my jacket.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm currently in a career path that has me working as a call-center agent AND as a volunteer licensed Physical Therapist. Is the chosen path likely to be hard? Hell, yeah. Are the projected gains worth it? I think so, but only time will validate my analysis.

I kinda hit a stumbling block with my salary since I'm hit by the so-called "cut-off". It simply means that I'll be getting only a fourth during the first pay-day and I'll get the remaining three-fourths come next pay-day. Also, the signing bonus I'll get is taxable, which means that the total amount I can receive will be reduced. Reduced by how much? I'm told a fifth will be bitten off by Internal Revenue. [shakes head in annoyance]

Well, four-fifths is better than none, so I might as well reconfigure my finances accordingly. I'm getting the hang of spending only for the necessities, but I have to regulate what stimuli lil ole me receives if I'm to expect reasonable progress.

So, I'm nursing a clogged nose. I'm also going to retrieve my jacket. I have to process stuff so Internal Revenue can bite me every pay-day, which is a requirement for continued employment. All in all, I'd still pick this lot for the one I left, because this is a state wherein I'm in charge of where I'm going. It sucks that this situation is totally make or break, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy anyway [shrugs].

2009

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[tilts head to the right] I've need of my Physical Therapy books. I've need of my sticks. That I've had to leave my books and that I forgot my sticks during my flight annoy me to no end. I've treated a patient today and I'm currently experiencing muscle fatigue on my left shoulder and arm caused by an abject lack of exercise. I'm going through the solid aspects of my memory palace and I'm decrying the lack of infrastructure that would have helped me satisfactorily analyze my patient's condition. That I've been able to treat more than half of my patient's complaints do little to assuage my pride as a professional. It annoys me that I've been unable to meet my standards. Though said standards are ideal at the worst, those standards were set so I'd be able to satisfy my self. I'm an agent of a service industry, a health-care service industry.

At any rate, things are going more or less according to plan. There are expected necessary expenditures and then there are expected whimsical expenditures. As of now, the whimsical expenditures are expected to happen by the middle of this year, which is the projected third month of my being a regularized employee. That gives me time to carefully consider those whims, which may translate to greater revenues if said whims have been determined as unable to fulfill acceptable goals.

I'm going to retrieve my books and sticks if such an operation will be relatively immune to Murphy's Law. My ability to freely rationally determine my course of action is of utmost importance to me. The fact that I can earn money while being able to continue my practice as a Physical Therapist is a treasure beyond compare.

I owe a lot to my close friends. Those who call themselves my friends are worth mention, at least. My acquaintances are given their due.