A new colleague told us yesterday that she didn't go home two nights ago. She and her live-in partner for five years had a nasty fight and as a result, he told her to leave the house and never come back.
At 22, she has two young daughters, which, will have to be divided between her and her partner. At the moment, she is staying at her barkada's small room apartment a few blocks away from our office. When asked about her plans, she told us that she wanted to focus on her career. Apparently, this is the first job she got after dropping out of college.
Another female colleague has the same story.
I don't know what her age is, but every time she shows up at work, bruises and cuts mark her frail body. What's so strange about her is that she's so used to getting battered, she's even proud to show her disturbing trophies to everyone at the floor. Her live-in partner on the other hand, still shows up in the office selling air-soft guns to the guys, who doesn't know how to spend their meager salaries we get every payday.
The stories of broken lives doesn't stop there. An early thirties colleague had just recently quit her second job that supports her and her three boys. She is married, but apparently her husband stays with another mistress. A team mate is seven months pregnant. Despite her awesome height and attractive looks, her kid will be born with no man to call a father.
In my line of work, around a quarter of the operators are college drop-outs. A quarter are struggling artists who moonlights at small-time gigs or in other artistic pursuits. A significant population belongs to the lesbian and gay community and the rest are elders, who, have been left out to fend for themselves after their previous companies were forced to close down because of economic woes.
In the words of Mami Athena, we are like a one huge karnabal. Everyone has a freakish background story to tell and everyone has a strange personality, which only the most insane and the most mentally deranged among us could appreciate and understand in a better light. I guess this is how we are meant to be. We cannot be actors and actresses to our service users if we don't have any brokenness to speak of in our lives.
Yet, despite these gloomy stories of my colleagues, the company remains a beacon of light. While my 22-year old colleague tells of her plans to focus on her career now that she's on her own, the image of the the company being a place of refuge keeps shining inside my head. The mere thought of these people, despite their struggling broken lives still getting their fifteen-day pay gives them a sense of hope.
It speaks of emancipation.
I do not know how many more unspoken broken lives there are in the office and I do not know what other stories will I hear from colleagues who will still be hired by the company in the future. However, one thing is certain. From these stories, I get an image of hopeful people struggling to make their lives a little better; That despite their past mistakes they are determined to correct them by striving to give their children a better life.
I remember a newly-hired operator asking me why, despite my superb academic credentials, still slaving myself with our company. I gave her an abstract answer that borders between long employment tenure and emotional investment. She was convinced with my answers. However, I decided to hide the truth from her...
The reason behind my stay is because of the five companies that I have worked for in the past. My present job is the only company that made me see different lives and appreciate my humanity in so many ways even words can never fully explain.
At 22, she has two young daughters, which, will have to be divided between her and her partner. At the moment, she is staying at her barkada's small room apartment a few blocks away from our office. When asked about her plans, she told us that she wanted to focus on her career. Apparently, this is the first job she got after dropping out of college.
Another female colleague has the same story.
I don't know what her age is, but every time she shows up at work, bruises and cuts mark her frail body. What's so strange about her is that she's so used to getting battered, she's even proud to show her disturbing trophies to everyone at the floor. Her live-in partner on the other hand, still shows up in the office selling air-soft guns to the guys, who doesn't know how to spend their meager salaries we get every payday.
The stories of broken lives doesn't stop there. An early thirties colleague had just recently quit her second job that supports her and her three boys. She is married, but apparently her husband stays with another mistress. A team mate is seven months pregnant. Despite her awesome height and attractive looks, her kid will be born with no man to call a father.
In my line of work, around a quarter of the operators are college drop-outs. A quarter are struggling artists who moonlights at small-time gigs or in other artistic pursuits. A significant population belongs to the lesbian and gay community and the rest are elders, who, have been left out to fend for themselves after their previous companies were forced to close down because of economic woes.
In the words of Mami Athena, we are like a one huge karnabal. Everyone has a freakish background story to tell and everyone has a strange personality, which only the most insane and the most mentally deranged among us could appreciate and understand in a better light. I guess this is how we are meant to be. We cannot be actors and actresses to our service users if we don't have any brokenness to speak of in our lives.
Yet, despite these gloomy stories of my colleagues, the company remains a beacon of light. While my 22-year old colleague tells of her plans to focus on her career now that she's on her own, the image of the the company being a place of refuge keeps shining inside my head. The mere thought of these people, despite their struggling broken lives still getting their fifteen-day pay gives them a sense of hope.
It speaks of emancipation.
I do not know how many more unspoken broken lives there are in the office and I do not know what other stories will I hear from colleagues who will still be hired by the company in the future. However, one thing is certain. From these stories, I get an image of hopeful people struggling to make their lives a little better; That despite their past mistakes they are determined to correct them by striving to give their children a better life.
I remember a newly-hired operator asking me why, despite my superb academic credentials, still slaving myself with our company. I gave her an abstract answer that borders between long employment tenure and emotional investment. She was convinced with my answers. However, I decided to hide the truth from her...
The reason behind my stay is because of the five companies that I have worked for in the past. My present job is the only company that made me see different lives and appreciate my humanity in so many ways even words can never fully explain.
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