Ake Ome to everyone! (Akemashite Omedetou -> Happy New year in Japanese) . Now on with the mandatory, first day of the yer post.

So what’s new for the year?

Aside from the usual conundrum of PSP-related stuff like the latest CFW or the latest free PSP games (and the latest free dsi games for DSI users), there’s photography, anime, fanboyism stuff and all stuff geeky. If you’ve noticed, the recent trend of posts for Atma Xplorer has trickled compared to my earlier posting frequency (I peaked at once every two days). That’s because I’ve been quite busy managing several blogs (personal and otherwise), some money making gigs (one with megaupload, thanks to bhatugan.com’s dcoyy for helping me with that ), a secret project that I’m still working on the foundations of and work (we’ve shifted our web dev team to RoR yay!).

As of now, I’ll be running just a handful of blogs (downsized for quality and other reasons…. thanks a lot john /sarc) to keep focus on post frequency/quality and make time for my other activities like gaming (yay for our PS3, Xbox and wii though our first wii died earlier last year so I’ll be getting a new one by the end of the month), field shoots (on location photography if you’re not familiar with the term) and freelancing gigs (courtesy of my still secret project ). So yeah, busy busy, busy!

If you’re wondering what’ll be the break down of post topics per blog:
Atma Xplorer – Gaming, Anime, Photography, Random yet interesting stuff. I may even start running contests (with prizes from Play-Asia or even cold hard cash) but those plans are still under wrap for now
Techie Xplorer – From the ashes of Pinoy Tech Guy (my earlier attempt at a tech-blog), Techie Xplorer is just another tech-related blog. You’ll find gadgets (and hopefully reviews soon), tips and tricks and other geeky stuff that don’t fall into Atma Xplorer’s plethora of categories.
sylv3rblade.com – currently it’s just a personal blog (an empty one at that) so I’ll be posting stuff that comes out to mind
The secret project – is currently a photography, face-painting and web development gig. I’ll be posting more info after the public launch but for now, that’s the only information I can give out

Anything else?

I’ve been busy for that last few months of 2009 so here’s an x’mas present for myself:

Yep, that’s a D90 kit.

I know, I know. I was supposed to get it last year but due to several complications, I was able to get one just now. I’m still playing with it and thus far, I can safely that it’s quite a level up compared to my older D40 (my head is still buried reading the thick manual and kenrockwell’s D90 manual). I’ll be posting a review on Techie Xplorer but for now, I’ll be tinkering and testing it out until I get the feel of it. If you’re curious, I got my D90 from kimstore! The kit (D90 body + Nikkor 18-105mm VR lens + LCD cover) is currently at Php 53,000. They even threw in a free 8GB SD card .

Well that’s all for now. I was supposed to write a year end report but I guess I got carried away . Will be posting a few interesting morsels in a bit, stay tuned via Atma Xplorer’s feeds.

• Enjoying my Nikon D90
• Your Christmas gadget wishlist
• Turbulence in the Pinoy blogosphere
• Just a minor site update – shifting paradigms
• Nikon D90: DSLR + HD Video Recording

Now, if you’re scratching your head as to how meri kurisumasu = merry christmas, it’s the japanese pronunciation of the holiday! Forgive my otaku-mannerisms as I’ve just started a week-long anime marathon . I need the break from this month’s overbearing workload so I may not be online as much as I did so I hope you can bear with me (this is still a one man show!). If you’ve posted a question and are still waiting for a reply, why not treat yourself to some free psp games and free dsi games? I promise to be back before the new year’s celebration

Again, Merry Christmas everyone!

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A bit of warning, the language of the commentary me offend you… but it will crack you up I promise!

Now please excuse me while I continue rolling on the floor laughing (that’s ROTFL to the uninitiated)

• Free Hardcore Six Videos and Six Pictures

Valentines has a different meaning for True-blooded Mapuans. Instead of being centered about love for your other half, black Valentines is about our love for our school and it’s memory. As a refresher, to those who still don’t know what took place behind every student and alumni’s back, Mapua Institute of Technology is officially dead. The name exists legally as the school’s alias, or simply put, it’s just the cover for the name Malayan Colleges.

Malayan Colleges?

Yes, that’s the name SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) currently refers to MIT so under legal terms, Mapua Institute of Technology is now technically named Malayan Colleges operating under the latter name.

To those still wondering what significance that has to our lives, it’s about the name and the legacy. Although current students are still carrying the name Mapuans as per tradition, the moment you look at the next graduates (THANK GOD I’m not one of them), the name of the school written on their diplomas will be Malayan Colleges operating under the name Mapua Institute of Technology. Now I’m not much into the technicalities of naming conventions but to me, having graduated from a school named Malayan automatically disqualifies you from being called a Mapuan.

Then there’s the legacy. Mapuans are well-known for being the backbone of the industry (in general). If you’re doubting this, just go to Ayala Ave and ask around. We’re there, we’re everywhere.

Where’s the battle?

The battle was short-lived with a lot of casualties. In the end though, like any minority opposing a big and well-funded entity, we lost the battle. There will be no order to revert the name to what it was (news got out AFTER the SEC ratified the claim of changing names) and we all hung our heads in defeat.

Some of the protesters were expelled, others with similar though not as harsh punishment. And to prevent further “rallies” (as what happened 2005), the administration added a document for freshmen (or frosh as the school refers to them, I still don’t get where that term rooted from o.O) to prevent them from participating in such activities of face the guillotine. How’s that for tyranny?

Why don’t you just leave?

Too late for me now I’m just waiting for completions, but as agreed then by the CSC and the administration, all enrollees up to 2004 will retain the MIT name on their diplomas. To the enrollees afterwards, though luck to you.

I’m sure a lot of us thought of transferring when the news went out though but most if not all technical schools does not credit ALL our curriculum’s given subject so for the financially challenged (like myself then) the only option was to stay and obey.

Being the passive protesters that we Mapuans are however, the idea of a Black Valentines came into view. Since it was general knowledge that most of our population then won’t be joining in the protest activities, it was put into action so that everyone can participate in the protest for the name we lost and the legacy that’s clearly our own.

A friend of mine wrote a full write up for Black Valentines. He gave me permission to post and edit it (some words are not for kiddies). You can find it on the next page.  A word of warning, it’s long, even after editing, he’s really passionate about it.

If you’re thinking about Clear’s Black Valentine ad/promo, it’s not about it. It’s all about what happened exactly 3 years ago, when every student, instructor and personnel who loves our school wore black. It all started on the 2nd week of February. The president of our beloved Alma Mater has a new message for everyone. And that message infuriated each and every single student, alumni and probably, most of our teachers/professors/instructors of our school, whether they are alumni or not.

Our school, ever since his boss took over, had undergone a lot of changes. In 2001, the “Quarterm” (4 terms in one year) has been implemented. It is supposedly to help our school to become a college (as if the school is not already a college…), then a university. It will also help with some accreditation that is based on U.S., so that if the students from the school decide to go study there for college, the units that the students took here will be credited. But their catchphrase is that supposedly, it will help us to graduate quicker, and it will save a lot of money in the future. Yeah right, as if hindi sila nagtataas ng matrikula… There were no hearings or dialogues regarding this, they just implemented it. But because we wanted to graduate to the school known as “the best school in engineering and architecture,” we just accepted it silently, regardless of its possible consequences.

Second, the addition of a “College of Nursing.” What the?! Oh well, another addition so that we can become a college, later, a university. Just like our tradition of being passive to issues, we did not give a damn about it. We just wanted to study and graduate in Mapua Institute of Technology.

Ok now, back in February 2005, there was this message that another change will happen. To put it simply short, they have decided to ultimately change the name of our school, and once again, for the college/university status. Well, they said that the college of engineering, architecture and information technology will still bear the name. It will just be under the “Malayan Colleges.” All documents regarding this will also need to be changed. All hell breaks lose.

February 12, 2005, there was a dialogue regarding this. But what the fuck, it’s not even a dialogue. They just told the students it’s for the good of all. After these years, their reason is still the fucking same thing, just like the changes they did. We already accepted the fact that we pay almost P100,000.00 per year so that we could study and graduate in Mapua. And now, the dust has been settled for us to see whole scenario behind these changes. The changes they made in the span of 5 years were not for the school. It’s just for their fat asses so that they can make more money.

February 14, 2005, instead of us having Valentine’s Day parties and dates with our loved ones, we did something that we never thought we will do. Mapuans, who were known to be pacifists in all history changing activities of this damned country, did not attend their classes, and instead, staged a rally. Yep, we staged a rally against the ********* Group of Companies, because of what they did to our school. And to show our seriousness that we don’t like what they are doing anymore, almost each and every one of us wore black that day.

I never thought that in my whole existence, I’ll be joining in this type of activities. Actually, I hated it. It only makes the situation in the Philippines worse. But after this, it changed my opinion about it. It was a nice experience. After the 1st rally, I did not attend most of my classes anymore. Just some “make-up” classes during Sundays. Everyday, I just went to school wearing black, just to attend the rallies. Most of my remaining days during the term were spent on rallying and getting photographs about it, whether it’s around Intramuros or in Makati. And those photographs were posted around the world of cyberspace so everyone can see it.

It’s nice to let your voice be heard. I don’t want to enroll and study in Malayan Colleges. After high school, my first choice was to study and graduate in Mapua. I took other college entrance exams, but Mapua is my first choice. When I learned that I passed the entrance exam, I did not hesitate to enroll there. The only thing that bothered me was my grades in high school. It might be not enough for me to enroll in Mapua. But thank God, it’s more than enough.

But unfortunately for us, we’re just students. We are powerless against a Chinese tycoon, who according to his minion, we should be thankful for because of his “contributions” to our school, even though we paid for it, who calls himself a Filipino (yeah right), and last, but not the least, who probably has the backing of the most powerful ma… woman in the country.

In order for the chaos to subside, through our Corrupted/Crappy Student Council (CSC) who were allegedly bribed, the bastards have suggested a compromise that the full implementation will be done after 5 years (well, in 1-2 years by now), and that our documents will have no hint of Malayan Colleges. Most of us, including myself, unwillingly agreed to that compromise. We are already in a lose-lose situation anyway. I know back in my mind that it’s bad for the future generations. But at the same time, in the current situation, that option might better for us. We will still manage to graduate at Mapua rather than that cursed college. It might be a selfish act, but we still wanted to graduate in Mapua, per se. But what the fuck, the batch who immediately managed to graduate after the mess had their fucking diplomas, transcript of records and other documents tainted by the name “Malayan Colleges.”

Just like almost every rally, the activists are always on the losing end. Well, some of the faculty members were fired. The student leader was kicked out as well, together with other different students. We did not win the fight. After the events, those who were lucky came back either to study or teach. Other instructors have resigned. Ironically, there are other instructors who were forced to stay, because of some implications that the students they handle “might pass their subjects.” And later, “unauthorized formations” are prohibited. The students can’t even speak against anyone in the higher offices that easily, because those who want to complain are being threatened. The official publication is under some sort of surveillance. There is some sort of news blackout and censorship with issues regarding the anomalies and other hocus-pocus that happens inside the school. There was this instance that the distribution of such paper was put on hold, because the headline was about a humongous tuition fee increase, and incidentally, the incoming freshmen are also enrolling by during those times (TNB April 2007 issue, p. 05). New enrollees signed an enrollment contract that contains “they are not allowed to speak their grievances” per se. And the worst thing of all, we realized the whole truth. Since December 2004, Mapua Institute of Technology does not exist anymore. They just “shot down” Mapua, and created something known as “Malayan Colleges” masking on the identity “Mapua Institute of Technology.” All these time, we were transferred to another school that’s using the name of our former school, and all these time, we enrolled to a school that we never wanted to enroll in the first place.

I wanted to switch schools, but it is already too late for me. I was already a few units left before my graduation (but unfortunately, I had this subject that took me 1 year to complete…) and if I switch schools, it will be another burden for my folks, since I’ll almost start from scratch once again.

There was this feeling that somehow if I did the right thing, to study in Mapua. I’m asking questions what might have happened if I study somewhere else, like UST, or better yet, in PATTS or Airlink. Maybe, I’m already having a good career in the airline industry. Somehow, I also like to be in that type of industry. Up to this day, I’m still asking those types of questions, if I should have studied somewhere else, where I won’t get disappointed.

And while typing this, I’m still thinking of those changes. I still question the need of that accreditation. The instructors have already spoken when it was introduced. It’s not good for everyone. Up ‘til this day, they are still upholding their opinion about it. For me, there’s no need for us to study in the U.S.A. anymore. Why would they apply for such accreditation, whose only purpose is for some of our units to be credited when we study there? Seeing the situation in the Philippines, where college education is very costly, what would make them think that we will enroll in the U.S. as well? That accreditation is not really needed in my opinion. You don’t need to study college in the U.S. so that you can be successful. Look at Bayani Fernando and Diosdado Banatao. They were alumni of Mapua, and they are damn rich. They did not study in the States just to become rich. If they managed to study there, it’s because they are already rich, and did not even use some accreditation for it. The education they gained by studying in Mapua is already enough to make them rich here or around the globe.

And what infuriates me is that while we were all fucked up in that accreditation, in reality, we cannot really use it. Do they think most of us can afford to study in the States and have our units accredited there? If you ask me that question, hell no!!! And some rumors spread that their college in Cabuyao, Laguna will somehow be accredited, and hopefully, will benefit from it as well, without them sweating and sacrificing for it.

As for the 2nd change, it was implemented during the boom of the need for nurses. Well, nurses are still needed. I really don’t know why they first added a school of nursing instead of other courses, exactly on the time where nurses are needed in almost every part of the globe. To their first batch of nursing graduates, God bless and do well. Good luck alone will not make you a registered nurse, that’s why I did not wish you any good luck. If you don’t make good on your board exams, tsk tsk tsk… say bye bye to your school of nursing.

Well, as for the 3rd change, it all summarizes up one thing for me. It’s a proof that those bastards only used my school as a stepping stone to create more money, as well to create a high school near Malacañang and a college in Cabuyao, to create even more money. The funny thing is that, we paid for it, and we did not even use it.

Usually, Valentine’s Day is a special day for your loved ones. But me, I don’t celebrate it. Aside from me being single (maybe, I’m in love…), it doesn’t need to be Valentine’s to show your love to your special someone. You must always do that everyday. Instead, I commemorate what happened 3 years ago. I always wear black on Feb. 14. This is my way of commemorating it. I really don’t know if some of my batch mates or friends from school who fought in that battle still do it, but most of us promised to wear black on this day.

Nothing will change what I think or feel about those things. Whatever those assholes say, nothing’s going to change my opinions about what happened to the school, because they are crap, what they say are crap, and what they did to my school is crap. They have failed my expectations, nevertheless, they failed me. I did my best to do my part of the bargain, but they did not. I signed a contract that I have to study well and hard in Mapua Institute of Technology, so that I will graduate in Mapua Institute of Technology. I have not read anything, or signed for that matter, that I will be moved to study and graduate in “Malayan Colleges operating under the name Mapua Institute of Technology.”

It is nice to fight for something which is worth dying for. I never thought I’d be fighting and be willing to die for my school, my Alma Mater. But because we have lost the fight, somehow, the loss still hurts me. I can still feel the pain of the events 3 years ago, especially when there are some who already forgot the likes of Armando Cristobal, Engr. Fe Noche and Engr. Gerard De Leon. Well, maybe they are new students who were fooled by those bastards. Somehow, I feel that those who participated will never forget it. Those who remain there that experienced “Black Valentines” are probably just a handful of priority batches and batch 2004. Most of the student body is now composed of students from batch 2005 and later, who did not experience it. I don’t know if most of batch 2005 and the later batches have any idea about the events that happened in Feb. 14, 2005, and the later days. But it hurts me most when I hear some news that instructors give additional points for students who will wear red on that day. As if they have forgotten what happen 3 years ago.

Frankly speaking, I want to move on. But I really don’t know why I can’t move on. I have already graduated in “Mapua.” I am now working. But still, I don’t know why I can’t accept those facts.

Even though this has happened, somehow, I saw a silver lining of some sort in this experience. I found new friends. I found out that there is a fighter sleeping inside me, who is now awake and knows how to take huge risks. Before, if the risk is too much, I won’t take it, but now, I always take it. And for once in my college life, I proudly raised my forearm, and sung to the tune of something like “for the M and I and T…”

Well, the fight happened 3 years ago, but something tells me, it is not yet the end, and the fight is still not over. Maybe that’s the reason I can’t move on, because in my mind, it is not yet over… Maybe we only just lost the battle, but not the war.

Let’s see in 2 years time… But while time passes by, while doing the usual daily routines in my life, time after time, I’ll be watching, waiting… for the things to come, for the things to happen…

P.S. Those written in Italics were the discussions of my not-so-evil half-self, and my very-so evil half-self inside my cranium. Oh, and by the way, if something bad happens to me due to paranormal/abnormal/not normal circumstances, it’s up to you to deduce on the circumstances that will happen to me in that kind of future, just in case. One thing is for sure, he said “kaya naming kayong ipabura sa mundo…”

Bedevilled Writer: Pahabol… RALLY NA ‘TO!!!

Pics of the February 14, 2005 can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here

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Ok, enough about ranting. For what it’s worth, I loved the trip. I felt I really needed some time out and although I shelled out more cash than I really wanted, I can’t help but feel it was worth every peso. The trip is a very personal one so it was more of a communal thing rather than a sightseeing trip. No actual pics aside from the ones taken with my friend’s camera-attachment for his PSP so sorry about that Mark.

Here’s the highlights of my trip:

• Went to Nipponbashi look for anime stuff. I was able to buy a Destroy model kit for my collection and tried to look for a store that carries legwarmers which I wanted to give to a friend (it’s a year-late request). I didn’t know what they were called in japanese and since I was the only one who spoke English in the group, we looked like a group of drunken otakus playing charades. I only got my hands on a few items since we really needed to get on the train.
• Boarded the Shinkansen (not my idea but what the hell). I never really thought of the Nintendo DS’ popularity but after seeing a train full of DS’ holders (and gamers) I’m convinced.
• Went to Kyoto to visit my friend. Like I said in the previous post he’s still in the hospital but recuperating.
• I thought of going to Kiyomizu Dera temple since I wanted to visit another friend there but it was too far off so I just called.
• Went to Shijo-Kawaramachi shopping district to waste the last few hours of my stay. No I didn’t go on a shopping spree. We stayed at one of the numerous game centers there and played our hearts out. I got to play Beats though, a title available only from the PS Store. Then after about an hour of Tekken some other fighting game (can’t read kanji sorry), we blew our hearts out on the videoke o.O.

The trip was nothing really earthshaking but I needed it to remind plant my feet back on the ground. To quote one of our conversations:

You’ve been spending so much time building up yourself that you’ve totally lost track. It’s never about what you can or cannot do. It’s about what you keep in your heart, that’s what matters.

I hope those words keep me straight for more than a year. I’m doing this trip annually is going to break my bank. Mentioned pics will remain on my PSP.

I’m off to sleep since I’ll be having an exam later.  Cheers guys!

• Upcomng Anime List Fall 2010
• Goodbye One Manga
• K-On! second season incoming
• Limited Edition Evangelion Fender Guitars
• New Geass Project incoming
• Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works Movie in the works
• K-On’s Don’t say Lazy [Nendroid version]
• Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
• Evangelion remake gets remastered version
• Anime Titles to watch [May 2009]

I wanted to go to Akihabara but seeing that the fare was already taken from my own wallet, I doubt I’d survive my first hour there. Why? Akihabara is considered Otaku heaven with the best stores if you’re searching for anime merchandise. Software, manga, anime titles and even adult items (no I won’t go into detail), you name it, it’s there.
Since Akihabara is simply out of the question, we went for the next best thing: Nipponbashi in Osaka. There was only one store that I really wanted to see there and the picture below should make clear. When I saw it, I almost broke into tears.

Aptly named Osaka Gundams, the store carries everything that a Gundam lover would want. I personally can’t describe the feeling after setting foot in the building but to put it simply, I was like a child released into a giant sandbox. ^^ I saw many Gundam kits that I really wish to take home but can’t. They’re either very rare or very expensive (20K Yen upwards o.O). I would’ve taken home a DESTROY model kit but I wouldn’t have enough cash to get home. Bummer.

Anyway, I’ll be going to Kyoto after this to visit my friend who’s still on his hospital bed, recovering from a heart by-pass surgery. I’ll probably spending the rest of my stay there since we have lots to catch up to so I hope I’ll have time to take pictures. See you guys soon.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

• Upcomng Anime List Fall 2010
• Goodbye One Manga
• K-On! second season incoming
• Limited Edition Evangelion Fender Guitars
• New Geass Project incoming
• Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works Movie in the works
• K-On’s Don’t say Lazy [Nendroid version]
• Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
• Evangelion remake gets remastered version
• Anime Titles to watch [May 2009]

I wish I had a camera to bring with me but I just broke my digital cam.

While I’m out check out this interesting video of the Playstation emulator for the iPhone:

This is a screenshot of the working app.

An installer for the PSX4iPhone is available on Installer.app, Check out the developer’s site for lots more info at: http://zodttd.com/wp/

[Via Iphone4world.com]

• Upcomng Anime List Fall 2010
• Goodbye One Manga
• Team Fortress 2 Gets Mac version and is 50% off!
• Steam is now officially on the Mac
• K-On! second season incoming
• Limited Edition Evangelion Fender Guitars
• New Geass Project incoming
• Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works Movie in the works
• K-On’s Don’t say Lazy [Nendroid version]
• Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

I’m still not done for the design up front but that’ll be for tomorrow after my exams in Accenture and Teloworks so I’ll follow that up hopefully after I get home.

• Online Etiquette 101 – Social Networking Sites
• Handling multiple blogs; a Gaming AND a Technology blog comparison
• EA: “No more crappy games from us”
• Need free file sharing? Look at ADrive
• Web services I can’t live without
• Do you know the CaramellDancen?
• Google search is drunk
• Look out: Spam from Gmail is coming
• Online Etiquette 101 – Online Games
• Online Etiquette 101 – Forums

	The contributor
	You share your knowledge with everyone for the betterment of the community. You ask little compensation like donations to help fund development, pay for hosting or none at all. Fame arrives from those who appreciate (or sometimes bash) your work and asks for more. Guys like you spearhead the development process of Open Source applications
	The reviewer
	You point out pros and cons from the works of the contributors with an unbiased (although most of the time biased) opinion. Your reviews gives readers perspective on what?s hot and what?s not so they can choose between A, B, C or none at all. You can either be paid to do your reviews (either by being part of a network or going solo) or you simply do it for the fun of it
	The critic
	If you think that a reviewer and a critic are the same, get a dictionary and read on. Everybody loves a critic. You can be a patient teacher or a satire critique. Point out flaws and/or things on works like articles, sites, even pictures that can be improved. Readers who have enough gray matter will pick up the values of your advice and/or criticism will both enjoy and benefit from your work.
	The ruler
	If you have people under you, they can be used (when speaking to them you say it’s “support you”) to promote yourself to others and build up reputation (if any and/or necessary). The bad part though, is that you have to compensate them somehow (like money). You need a huge backing to pull this off and even then it’s still a 50/50 chance. It’s just like running for the election although you just get bragging rights instead of an office and a seat.
	The bigot
	The second easiest way to become (in)famous. Insult and anger everyone in your path and watch the burst of traffic go wild. You?ll get hate mails, hate messages, hate gifts and if you are able to keep it up for quite a while even a hate fan club dedicated to pelting you and your opinions with eggs and tomatoes. Death threats are soon to follow.
	The lynch mob
	Members of the lynch mob can be classified under the bigot but because they have a large number, you deserve a different definition. You and those like you team up like pack or ravenous wolv-hyenas (wolves think so they?re out of the question) and when someone puts on a sign ?FOOD HERE,? you attack everything in sight. As you spend more and more time with the mob, you evolve and can then be described as an idiot.

• Online Etiquette 101 – Social Networking Sites
• Handling multiple blogs; a Gaming AND a Technology blog comparison
• EA: “No more crappy games from us”
• Need free file sharing? Look at ADrive
• Web services I can’t live without
• Do you know the CaramellDancen?
• Google search is drunk
• Look out: Spam from Gmail is coming
• Online Etiquette 101 – Online Games
• Online Etiquette 101 – Forums

1. A call center agent is not a technician

This is a common misconception to those who don’t know how the system works. The call center agents face the flood of calls and act as a buffer. Yes it’s economical and beneficial to the company because the job hierarchy prevents one staff member from doing the job of the other. For the customer’s side, it can mean long waits for a response to their support tickets or worse even no response at all. Because they rely on a set of “symptoms” rather than general knowledge of what’s going on, explaining a major problem is almost always a pain.

2. Good English skills does not mean good troubleshooting skills

Call centers look for people who can speak well and little else. I won’t deny that there are people in the service that have competent knowledge of the problems they’re working with but the fact remains that because the experts and technicians don’t come into the problem until much later into the support process you’re faced with the daunting task of simplifying a complex problem so that the agent will understand. Case in point, most of the agents in my ISP’s call center can’t even fathom what IRC is. More often than not, you have to teach some basic knowledge to them before they get to file the right report.

3. Calling entail the need for patience. Lots of patience

“-our apologies for your inconveniences” etc. etc. I’m sure we’ve all heard that because it’s the SOP for nearly all call centers. Receiving sympathy when needed can often divert people from the fact that when you receive that same line for the 3rd or 4th time on the same problem it equates to being told to shut up and wait. That would not be a problem unless of course your problem is a simple one like a burned out adapter for your broadband modem. Call center agents don’t seem to prioritize unless you force them (and I do mean literally screaming at the phone) that your problem can be solved with a simple 15 minute visit to your home by the technical support.

4. Not all call center agents are there to help

This is probably a one in a thousand call but it happens. They quickly divert the conversation to filing a report without even diagnosing what the problem is and drop the line. Though it probably won’t happen exactly that way, it’s a general idea of what to expect.

5. Asking other people is faster

It’s a tried and tested answer. Because most of what you need can be looked up on the net, unless it’s a major problem that really requires technical help, call centers should be your last resort.

• Online Etiquette 101 – Social Networking Sites
• Handling multiple blogs; a Gaming AND a Technology blog comparison
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Here?s a few tips to get your brain back into gear:

1. Get sugar in your system
Although most people recommend drinks with caffeine, I suggest taking in anything sugar coated. Yes, caffeine stimulates the body ?insert caffeine facts here? but in my experience, it?s boost lasts generally from 2 hours to roughly 20 minutes. When it wears off you?re bound to take in seconds and repeat until needed. And we all know that too much of something is bad for your health. The beauty of sugar or, sweets in general is, that all you need is a small amount at a time to give your brain a jumpstart. If you?re worried about calories then you can always use sugar alternatives.

2. Move around
If your room is as boring as mine, chances are your inspiration will wane the moment you take a break from what you?re doing. Move somewhere you?ll be at ease and inspired like a quiet park, a scenic view or even just somewhere very familiar. If you?re at ease it?s much easier to think stuff up.

3. Listen to music
It?s a given to help induce your creativity but sometimes the wrong type of music can lead to loss of concentration. I?ve found that the best genre to listen to is something slow and soft. The gentle pace and rhythm can help with the flow of your creative thinking.

4. Look up on relevant stuff
When creating a formal work like a paper or a report, searching for information that?s both relevant to your work and interesting to you can help. Although it sounds contradictory, bear in mind that so long as what you?re working on interests your concentration lasts much longer.

5. Always seek C&C
While most people hate being criticized, especially those with egos the size of of skyscrapers, it?s the best way to find out flaws and kinks in your work. This works well especially to writers because the best proof-reader isn?t yourself.

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