snow and ski

after a long time of not being able to write anything, i would like to share some pics taken during my first and second time to go to ski resort. the
first one was at karuizawa with friends from canon.
here at first, i was really struggling. i slipped and i even have to remove the ski because i could not stand up. well i don’t know yet how to stand. the japanese friend taught me the proper way to fall ( which by the way i did not follow ), but did not teach how to stand. but i tried and tried ( trick was patiently standing with me ) and after an hour, i was not falling down anymore i was able to ski maybe along the 5 degree slope hehehe…
but trick was more courageous and tried the one with the lift ( i thought this was already an advanced beginner slope until i saw the slopes at niigata brrrr… ). and he did it! well, other than the few slips he did really fine

the second one was at niigata. this one is a free trip courtesy of trick’s company. so despite the fact that i told myself that i would not return to ski again ( i said this during the early part of the trip above ), we still said a go! it’s free! well atleast this one was via shinkansen so the trip was just really fast(1.5 hours) and more convenient that the first time – the karuizawa trip was like 5.5 hours in the bus. my only complaint was, i did not see the same beginner’s course — like the one in karuizawa. well, maybe for niigata, the beginner’s course implied that you are living in niigata and snow is just part of everyday life. the slopes were intimidatingly inclined sleek long slopes and the next thing to it was ravine
anyway, i enjoyed the ski lift going down, for i have never seen such a view! really breath taking. i did not breath until i reached the end. the snow was just so strong and my face and hands were really frozen by the time i was at the end. in this trip, the only ski that i did was when i get off the upward lift and skied to the side. i did not push myself because of the reason i learned that morning. i’ll be sharing it in my next blog

outsourced

last night, had a time to watch a movie again ( hubby had a thanksgiving party at work ) and so i watched this movie outsourced. the movie revolves around the experience of an american executive vice president who travelled to india to train a new indian team to sell american items to americans through phone calls – in short, to train an outsourced call center manager/team who would be taking away his job soon (whew! …. out of breath).

i found the movie amusing and entertaining. the conversations were very casual and doesn’t sound like to something that is scripted. i also loved the parts when “Tod” is addressed as “Mr. Toad” . but i was wondering if the call center offices in india are really like that.the call center offices in pinas is definitely not something like in the movie. i believe big call centers in the philippines are mostly situated in business areas.well maybe the movie just twisted the scenario and created a call center office somewhere in the woods

as i watched the movie, i was able to relate to since i used to be an employee of this american company whose main business is outsourcing. we’re not a call center , though my friends in call center thought we were. eventhough my job was not to make calls (i used to maintain and enhance a sytem/applications), i was able to feel the resistance of our client’s employees, well not to someone who is selling items, but to someone whom they felt is taking away their jobs. especially when this company acquired(or as they say merge) almost all of the telco company in the US, there had been a little confusion on who gets what. rumors of lay-off and cutting on budget were sometimes the topic when we have calls with our team mate onshore. it’s just crazy. but i truly understand their little defiance.

anyway, with the cheaper cost of labor in lesser fortunate countries such as philippines and india and the biggest one now – china (not included in the lesser fortunate countries i believe), business management inevitably jumps in the bandwagon of outsourcing. noting on the positive outcome, i think this is good for our country since call centers are booming in the philippines, there are now lesser grads who doesn’t have work. cool huh. and so call centers are booming, lesser unemployment rate, and also starbucks is booming….and other coffee houses too.

really cool! more coffees to choose from.

what can be cooler than that? i love coffee.

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note: the author of this entry had not bought her 1st starbucks coffee in the philippines because she thought it’s impractical to pay around 140 pesos for a cup of frappe(is it cheaper now?).

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ooppss going back, so this entry is supposed to be about outsourcing. forget the coffee. if you would like to watch a different funny movie, try this one. =)

moshi moshi hakone

we went to hakone last last weekend to see the red and yellow trees of the autumn season. the weather was very fine earlier that day but became cloudy as the day progressed. it was so so so cold that i couldn’t feel my hands and ears anymore
here are some of our pics
please excuse if you see anything dripping from noses, i blame the cold wind

Moshi moshi Hakone 1