You're paid to do that.

It's been a very busy December for me despite the fact that we're just a week away from Christmas. And I thought that this was going to be my much needed respite from whole year's labor but no, projects still kept coming. I guess the saddest part was that I expected to have a vacation. Oh well. But now I'm back and I can afford to write a few entries here. I guess I shouldn't complain. I just want to take this chance and look at things differently. This is perhaps that time where I can prove to myself that I can do other things aside from activation and retail stuff.

The last TV campaign I did was a year ago. It was for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This was produced alongside the launch of Buhay Coke and Coke Light Have it All. While the Coke TV spots were all canned, the other ground work was all localized. And having to do it by yourself (alongside with your boss), and a control freak client service director, things would really get messy.

I have no regrets working on that alone as I can say I matured pretty quickly from that. I learned to be resourceful, to smile under pressure and to be very thorough. I learned how to take control of my time and to use it to my advantage. I guess those are the upside. But the downside is, I'd go home late at night feeling really empty and tired. I felt empty emotionally as all I can see is just work (and clients) and not being able to go out and have a little break. That really drained me to bits.

But this time it's different. It's the holidays, for crying out loud. Can't one even afford to feel what this season is all about, thank Jesus and have a chat with the family? I guess not. We have deadlines for the 24th and the 26th. Requirements just keep coming. And clients sometimes forget that we manage people here, and not vending machines. And that we actually need to pluck this people out of their houses when we have to ask them to come to work.

I guess some people can be really simplistic about these things. They're paid anyway, they'd say. Worse, they have this very sickening thinking, "others would die to get this". That's no way to treat a person, a partner, a confidante.

My three years on this account has been getting quite predictable. Dec 2004, I was the only AE left working on the floor during the long Christmas Break. Dec 2005, me again. Dec 2006, me with a handful of other AEs. Dec 2007, it will be me, Ria, Myrrh, Lot and Shali and Emma. Oh well. At least mas marami na kami this time.

I am not really complaining or anything. I just feel a little bit Grinchy and Scroogey about this whole thing. Other people expect us to bend over backwards and tell us what to do and what not to do because they have already planned their lives ahead. In this case, we can't even say no. After all, I am paid to do this.

Merry Christmas Office.