Being a call center agent: there and back again

Being a call center agent is mostly associated with, "night shifts," "irate callers" and "stress." What I notice about some people is that their faces tend to "cringe" when you tell them that you work in a call center, as if it's the most horrifying and disgusting thing they have ever heard. The funny thing is that these people are the ones that I think will never ever make it pass the first interview, if they apply in a call center (if they ever find the courage to do so). These people are usually those that have been stuck at a dead end job for 10 years or even more.

Being a call center agent has its advantages such as higher pay, you get a chance to improve your english speaking skills, bonuses, incentives and parties! When call centers celebrate, they really go all out. But perhaps the best thing about working in a call center is that you will get to meet a lot of interesting people. Some of them you will get along with, some are just plain a-holes. Just ignore them.

I am now on my second job as a call center agent in Convergys Bacolod (technically this is my fourth job), and I'll be staying with this company for as long as they will not "fire" me (sorry transcom people, you just chose the wrong company to work for). The advantages of working for Convergys, according to our trainor is that they promote people based on their performance and not how long they have been in the company. But they do reward people who have been with them for a long time. I can't discuss the details of working for Convergys because I might breach my contract with them which includes a "confidentiality agreement." However, if you're interested in applying for a job in Convergys Bacolod, please send me a message through facebook or my cellphone number (639109935922) and include your full name, email and cellphone and landline number.

A short guide to evaluating a college admission essay

College admission essays are meant to be personal and writing it can be hard. The pressure is even greater especially if the student is writing it for the college that he or she wants to get into. Although a college admission essay is only part of the whole college application process there is no doubt that it is often what determines a college student’s entry into a certain college or university of his choice. GPA or SAT scores might say how good a student is intellectually at the moment but a college admission essay will show how much potential a particular student has. The fact is that many college students have high GPA or SAT scores and many are at the top of their class so it will be hard to determine which applicants should be granted admission base only on those factors. College admission essays gives a lot of information about the student that grades and extracurricular activities could never give and those information could be vital for a students chance to be admitted to a college or university.

A student applying for a certain college or university will try his or her best to write an effective college admission essay because it is the one thing he has control over the entire college application process. Although college admission essays are personal in nature there is still a format to be followed in order for it to be effective and structured. The format composes of an introduction, body and a conclusion each having its own purpose.

College admission essay introductions are usually a paragraph long, but it should be able to summarize the students essay and make it easy to understand the student’s main point or idea. One way of determining the quality of a student’s introduction on his college admission essay is by reading just the introduction and seeing if you can guess the rest of the essay.

The body of a college admission essay is pretty much the most critical part because it explains the student’s main ideas about the subject he or she has chosen. It tells how passionate the student is about the subject at hand and how well he or she understands it; the body of a college admission essay also shows how good the student’s writing ability is and how well he can express his ideas through written words, but the most important purpose that the college admission essay body has is that it gives some insights into the students values, personality and willingness to achieve his or her goals. College admission essays could be several paragraphs long but always remember that each paragraph should have three to four complete sentences.

The conclusion of a college admission essay should sum up the student’s main points. It should support the facts that students have stated in his or her essays body and it is the last chance for the student to write any new information he or she might have left out in his research. The conclusion is usually ended by a final remark or sentence stating why the student should be given admission into the college.

Stop using carbofuran or it will kill your child

Carbofuran is a highly toxic pesticide, it is mostly used on crops such as bananas, potatoes, corn, rice and soybeans. But did you know that it is also used as a poison to kill coyotes and lions in africa? Carbofuran is a neurotoxin, and these neurotoxins specifically target nerve cells causing paralysis rapidly and ultimately death.

Carbofuran or most commonly known as Furadan is preferred by most farmers because it is very effective against insects and pesticides and they believe that it would lead to better crop yield, but most farmers do not know the consequences of using Carbofuran. Carbofuran comes in 2 forms one granular and the other in its liquid form. The granular form of Carbofuran was banned by U.S Environmental Protection Agency in 1991 because it was blamed as the cause of deaths of millions of birds in America. Birds easily mistake a Carbofuran grain for a seed so they tend to eat them which was the main reason for their deaths. The liquid form is as hazardous as the granular form but there are less chances of it being ingested by animals. The U.S environmental protection agency is planning to ban Carbofuran in all it's form because of the hazards in can cause.

Despite the dangers of Carbofuran, most farmers all over the world are still willing to use it. The reason of which is because there is a lack of education about Carbofuran and it's side effects. Farmers which come from third world countries often are not aware of the risk they are taking by using this product and some of them prefer to take the chance because they really have no choice because their governments lack the programs to introduce environment friendly and natural alternatives to combating pesticides.

One incident in Kenya demonstrates just how uneducated farmers are about Carbofuran or Furadan. A three year old child was allegedly poisoned by Carbofuran after consuming it on October 26,2009. The boys name was Kimutai, he was the son of Nahashon Kigai a native famer of Kenya. Nashashon Kigai bought the Carbofuran months before the incident because he was planning to use it on his crops. In an interview Nashashon stated that although he knew that Carbofuran was toxic on insects, he had no idea that they are harmful to human beings.

Incidents like these will always remind us that our children will pay the price if we continue to poison the earth. I'm Nasashon Kigai will have learn this lesson by now. One thing is for sure, Carbofuran is a poison and should not be use on our crops.

When should online freelance writers say no

Being a freelance writer online is somewhat an exciting job. You get to work for different clients and you're mostly going to encounter a lot topics so in the process you will get to learn different things. The advantage of being an online freelance writer is that you have the freedom to chose your own projects. The only problem you have as an online freelance writer is when to say no to a client. So, when do you say no? Try to use the following as your guideline.

The first thing you have to keep in mind is that you shouldn't lower your rates if you feel that you deserve it. I can guarantee you that if you agree to lower your rates for a certain client then you will end up writing low quality content. What I mean to say is that if you agreed to lower your rates for a certain client, will you really be as dedicated to what he asks you to write about or will you just consider it another way to earn? However, if you're given the compensation you think you deserve as a freelance writer then you would be motivated to write those articles with everything you've got, nothing will hold you back because you know that you will be satisfied financially. So learn to say no in these matters. Evaluate your situation carefully, ask yourself "Am I only worth what he is paying me?"

As an online freelance writer you should learn to say no to your clients. Most clients take advantage of writers who doesn't know how to refuse their ridiculous offers. Remember that the quality of writing you will produce depends on the mindset you are in. Belittling yourself by accepting or agreeing to your clients offer for a certain job where you think you deserve to be paid more will only hurt your future as an online freelance writer.

Basic structure of an effective article

In order to create an effective article, it should have four basic components, a title, introduction, body and summary. Each of these components are important and makes the entire article well structured and easy to understand. Urging and motivating your readers to read on and learn your articles content better.

Your title must contain all the necessary information about your article. An effective title will allow the reader to immediately grasp the point of your article. The title should contain keywords that relates to your topic. Writing an article about the advantages of being a vegetarian and naming it "Reasons why you should eat vegetables" would be a good example. It gives the readers an idea of what the article is about.

Your article introduction should summarize your content and sum up your key points. It should inspire your readers to read on or to learn more. Introductions are like movie trailers, they show the different important plots of the story including appealing contents.

Your article body should contain your main points, each of those points should be supported by sentences explaining or defining your point. These supporting sentences help readers fully understand your content. If possible, your supporting clauses should not be less than 3 sentences.

Your summary should also sum up your key points, but this time it should motivate your readers to take action upon what they have learned while reading your article. The most important action is to get your reader to remember your article once they have finished reading it.

These four basic components to your article namely the title, introduction, body and summary are the keys to making a good article but always remember that a good article is defined by its structure but a great article is determined by its writer’s passion.

President Obama, the next anti-christ?

Americans consider President Obama an Anti-Christ because of numerous accounts in the bible and other manuscripts that coincidentally describes similar situations and events that President Obama is at the present or in the future will be associated with. Research has shown a lot of these accounts, some of which might make you a believer the first time you come across it. There are numerous theories to which Americans are basing their accusations of President Obama’s being an Anti-Christ; there are however only two which I think are worth discussing.

First would be the 42 month reign of the Anti-Christ which is mention in the bible (revelation chapter 13), most people especially Americans seem to equate this with the 4 years President Obama will be serving as U.S president. I don’t think this theory is even plausible because 4 years is equal to 48 months and a 6 month margin seems to be pretty big error for a prediction that could effect the lives of everyone in the whole world. The next theory involves the year 2012 and the Mayans. According to the Mayan calendar the world as we know it will end on the year 2012 and coincidentally President Obama's term as U.S president will end around that time, however many people are mistaken on this as the Mayan calendar clearly suggests the end of an “age” wherein another age will begin and not the total destruction of life by an evil entity we fondly refer to as the Anti-Christ.

If we strictly based our beliefs on the end of the world from the mayans point of view, then we should be rejoicing when 2012 comes, as the mayans also suggest that the next age will bring forth enlightenment and wisdom to the human race which will result in an age of peace and prosperity.

Perhaps the real reason why Americans and for that matter the whole world would entertain ideas like this is because most of us yearn to live in a world where everything is dangerous, exciting and full of mysteries. People around the world hope their lives could be something more than what it is and so they easily believe things that they think could make the world a bit more interesting and adventurous.

A greener world to live in will be a myth by 2050

Global warming might be considered a "myth" by some people but there is no doubt in my mind that our country is feeling its effects. The dry season seems to be dryer and the hot seasons seem to be getting hotter. Perhaps the most frightening of all is that the wet and cold seasons seem to be getting irregular if not shorter. I am not going to write about any "solution" to global warming nor do I plan to write about the steps we must take because frankly, I have no idea what to do.

The vague idea I have of global warming is that it is caused by too much CO2 in our environment which lets the heat coming from the sun in our environment but prevents it from escaping. Where does CO2 come from? Basically it comes directly from us, we exhale CO2 but we obviously just can't stop breathing to save a planet we plan to live on, that would be ironic. Other sources of CO2 would be from our extensive use of technology which requires the use of electricity and fossil fuels whose byproduct is CO2.

No clear cut solution about global warming has been given yet. We obviously can't stop living without the technology we have been accustomed to, such as cars, computers, refrigerators, air-conditioners etc which some believes to be the primary cause of global warming. Some say that global warming can't be stopped because it is either to late or because it will happen no matter what we do because it is part of earths natural cycle to have events like these. Although I would not like to believe such claims, we can only hope that our children can live to see a greener world by 2050.

NASA found water on the moons surface

2009 will forever be remembered now as the year NASA found water on the moons surface. Theories about the moons surface being dry has now been proven a myth. NASA apparently sent spacecrafts to investigate a crater on the moon which has literally never been touched by sunlight for billion's of years, a perfect hiding place for vampires if I might add. NASA scientists are very excited about this new discovery as it proves yet another theory. The theory that water came from heavenly bodies such as comets.

"In the 20 to 30 meter crater we found maybe about a dozen, at least, two-gallon buckets of water. This is an initial result," said Anthony Colaprete, project scientist and principal investigator for the 79-million-dollar LCROSS mission.

If water which is the most basic requirement for life could exist on the moon, which is practically our closest neighbor in this vast empty space, can you imagine the possibility of other planets across the entire space having water on their surface? Maybe even life, It's a close call and we need to cross our fingers on this one.

"In the 20 to 30 meter crater we found maybe about a dozen, at least, two-gallon buckets of water. This is an initial result," said Anthony Colaprete, project scientist and principal investigator for the 79-million-dollar LCROSS mission.

This discovery could be the beginning of something new for humankind. The discovery of water on the moon will further support the cause of setting up lunar bases, which in turn will encourage further space exploration. However,I think that manned expeditions to the moon or of the entire galaxy will have to wait as more pressing matters should be given attention here on earth.

Instead of funding a lunar base project and planning explorations of other planets, I think our governments should focus their resources to further the development of environment friendly technologies and issues regarding our deteriorating environment. Our world should be given attention first, if we send people to explore the universe there might be a chance to find another world that could support life as we know it, but if we take care of this world we wouldn't need to worry about finding another one for a very long time.

A summary of my dining experience at Jollibee and McDonalds

I was eating lunch at McDonald's today when I remembered seeing an image on the internet of McDonald's tower with a sign below that says "Eat at McDonald's the number 1 fast food chain in the whole world except in the Philippines where we can't seem to beat that fat happy bee." I remembered the first time a McDonald's chain opened here in Bacolod. I was a child back then and I had no idea what the big deal was, but we ate there, and I really don't remember anything about that day except that we went there and ate, can't even remember what I ordered.

I can't remember where and when the first Jollibee chain opened here in bacolod because by then I really didn't care much about where I ate. For me, Jollibee and McDonald's are just the same.

Although I am a Filipino, I was more in favor of McDonald rather than Jollibee before, because of the fact that they where "the original" and Jollibee just seemed like a copycat, another thing I used to like about McDonald's was the quality of service and food they offered. Although Jollibee did offer quality service and food when it was starting, I still felt McDonald's was ahead.

Years gone by, Jollibee became better and McDonald's just stayed the same. Although at the moment, I believe that Jollibee now surpasses McDonald's popularity here in the Philippines I still have certain opinions and concerns about the two biggest fast food chains in the Philippine industry.

Over the years that I have been dining at McDonald's I have seen and observed a couple of things which I found either very disgusting or very annoying. Once when I was eating at a McDonald's branch here in Bacolod I saw a rat ran like hell in front of the table I was sitting in the rat ran in the direction of the kitchen and then It disappeared from my view.

I also noticed that their burgers are often dry and old, some of their burger patties don't smell nice too. So, the next time you eat a burger at McDonald's try sniffing at it first before you devour it. The employees at one particular branch I often eat from are also a bit annoying. They often stare at you when you eat, like something's wrong. Sometimes their employees also stand beside the table I'm eating and all they do is gossip. It's fine to gossip, but it get kinds of irritating if some people stand next to where you're eating and do it.

Jollibee has its share of problems. I once found a bug in the burger I was eating, which of course was too much even for me to handle, so I complained to them and they gladly changed it, although I have already eaten half of it. I think I could have caused quite a stir if I wanted to. There is also this issue about their managers, most of their managers are either very hard to get along with or a potential rapist. I've had many friends that once worked on Jollibee and a couple of them told me that there is this manager at a certain Jollibee branch who sexually harass female Jollibee employees and he has been transferred too different branches a couple of times because of this issue. One of my friends was even almost harassed by this manager, fortunately she was able to fight back.

Despite the problems with these two fast food chain giants, they still deliver quality service although they might sometimes have issues they still maintain a level of quality which is acceptable. Having said all that, I believe that there is still nothing that could beat a home cooked meal. So eat at your house whenever you can, it's often much healthier and cheaper.

Where you can you get free downloadable mp3,softwares, games and ebooks?

Have you ever wanted to download a certain mp3, software or game but can't seem to get it for free? So you try to search for it on the world wide web, you google it and you are given millions of website who claim to be able to give you what you want. So you click on the first website you see that looks promising. You realize a couple of minutes later that you have been duped. Irritating isn't it? So let me direct you to a website where you can pretty much download anything for free.

Go to 4shared.com and search for the particular item your looking for by using it's search engine. It's free to download and best of all, it will not trick you into buying anything. 4shared.com is actually a file hosting website that allows you to download other peoples files on their account as long as they are willing to share it. Unlike most file hosting websites, 4shared.com gives you a "search" option which of course allows you to search for a particular file. The community in 4shared.com is "very active", with people uploading different stuffs all the time.

The kind of service offered by 4shared.com can benefit people who are usually looking for freely downloadable mp3's, ebooks, images, short videos and games.