Small World Gone Smaller
Posted by special_child at 05:04 AM on June 9, 2007.
For one day, I made the world smaller than it usually is. 
Technically, it was a boring Friday. The whole day was spent training with my officemate James (this is for Customer Service). We had a very hyper colleague conduct the seminar. That, combined with his skill of speaking seven languages and delivering a freaky French accent, made a very hyper class of eXtreme Blue people and the better guys like us. It was like that the whole day. Fortunately, it had to end (part 2 on Tuesday... oh no... 
), and with it we (James, Ge, and I) ate a very sumptuous meal at Barrio Fiesta. 
But the main highlight of this day was going to Makati, apparently to watch a movie. It was Binky, Ge, and I who decided to go to G4 (through Binky's car - merci). I know that Jaja will be there, but so was Mito. And then all of a sudden Jane and her, uh, friend, was also there! So it was a ramble of sorts.
Since Binky had to leave early, and so did Mito and Jaja, the number of movies contending for the movie-to-watch position suddenly grew from two to zero. So we just stood there in front of Bench wondering what to do. While Jaja was keen on looking for gifts for Dave and Ed (whose birthdays are forthcoming), Mito was already tired carrying a huge huge camera. After a long while, we decided to go to Timezone.
Yes, it doesn't stop there. We saw Rex (the first time, Mito and I dodged; the second time, I had no choice) and even Arlene! The fun thing about it was that I asked Rex for a ride (apparently, I asked him to bring Mito and Jaja along) going south. He obliged.
All's well that ends well... maybe except for me getting dizzy as to which group to join. And for that ride going south (since Rex was joined by his sister and a friend). Nonetheless, it was fun seeing that all the friends I saw earlier now know each other (I hope so), and it was nice to see that many friends in a night.
Top Ten Definitions Specifically For This Entry
10. very hyper colleague: the one with raison d'être
9. eXtreme Blue: a combination of brains, "beauty", and conyo English as part of a management development program for IBM Business Services
8. James: a colleague recognized by Australia but not the Philippines
7. Ge: a colleague whose work and dedication to the business earns him more... work
6. Binky: a colleague who has a variety of names (Plinky, Dinky, Tinky Winky, and most recently, Jinky)
5. Bench: a store who hires relatively teenish stars for models and designs psychedelic underwear just for the sake of emphasizing a bulge; they also have homosexual mannequins who are on the verge of having foreplay
4. Rex: an original blockmate of mine who has a huge smile 
and a huge reputation of being a chickboy despite being NGSB
3. Mito: a strange standing, hanger-going-through-ing, stylish (human) being who hates being asked, "Musta?"
2. Jaja: a perky and preppy princess who painlessly peels pouts and promises to persuade and provide a pointed position of power (now ask "F" to fronounce that!)
-and... (drum roll please)-
1. Jane and her, uh, friend: HHWW... PSSP! DPSMONLNY!
Funny... I don't think many will understand the entire post.
Marvin the Martian™, jaz thinking aloud 
P.S. Now, for the pessimistic me in the next entry...
Currently enjoying "I Believe In You And Me", performed by Melinda Doolittle.
Currently deciphering French Open results.
Currently checking my icon blink.
Currently feeling restless yet very happy.
Smart: Simply Unamazing
Posted by special_child at 01:54 AM on June 10, 2007 as a favorite post.
I have waited way too long to delay creating this entry.
And now that I have made sure that all options have been exhausted, I am here to release my spite on the network I have been using all my life. I have been very loyal to Smart, having used three SIM's already. From one phone to another, the only thing that didn't change is my unwavering dedication to the telecom provider. Even though a lot of my friends are with Globe, I didn't for one second think of switching to the said network.
But some things really change.
I was very comfortable with the service I was provided... until three months ago, when everything changed. The old perception of Smart as a reliable service provider and innovator slowly but continuously faded as time passed. While various networks have sprouted and some have increased their products and services, Smart has stayed with what it had. Even if they had new products, it seemed below average as opposed to its competitors.
Never did I imagine that I would start to sway people away from the network I've been using for seven years now. In fact, before I have been swaying people to get Smart. So for me to change my mind, the reasons should be really heavy. If anyone would beg to disagree, feel free to send your comments. But I think I have the right to post my sentiments here.
Top Ten Reasons Why Smart Is Simply Unamazing10. Pasaload amounts have been fixed since its launching. While the competitor increased their choices (increments and decrements of one peso), Smart still only offers four amounts: 2, 5, 10, and 15. Recently they increased the choices (now available in 30 and 60), but it still is not enough.
9. Smart 3G and Smart Bro. Enough said.
8. Just like number 10, the Smart e-Load values are also very limited. Yes, Smart was the first to introduce this. But they are now very left behind.
7. I have experienced this twice in a small number of times I traveled abroad. The Smart roaming service has a long time of response. There were times that roaming is instantaneous; unfortunately, the ones I experienced were very delayed, and it ended up with me not even being registered for the said service.
6. While we're at it, I'd like to rant about how roaming services can't be activated through the Internet. The reason why I'm asking this is that connecting through the Internet is the primary means of communicating while abroad. How do you expect us to warn friends and family of our roaming being not activated when we don't have the network available for us when we arrive at our destination cities? It's a very big hassle.
5. What happened to Seoul? When we got there, we had no signal. This is despite the fact that we have activated our roaming service, and despite the fact that Smart confirmed that they have a telecom partner in Korea. There wasn't any moment that I had a slight signal to work with.
4. Okay, so the unlimited texting offer of Smart is now a forever thing. What happened to me? I have been unable to register for six months now. I have acquired a ticket for them to fix it, but as of today I am still kind of barred from the service.
3. A very slow response time is what bugs me. That includes the ticket I mentioned, the load inquiry that sometimes takes anywhere from five minutes to five hours to none (it did not arrive), and the unlimited registration from before.
2. What happened to the CSR's we're calling? The last time I called, I am already mad because of all these problems I've encountered. The only thing I did was to be sarcastic. The CSR, however, instead of being corteous and doing her job, became irritable and equally sarcastic! How's that for a call center agent?
-and... (drum roll please)-
1. This is the one I've hated most about Smart. *888. The slowest of response times... always busy in the morning... rude agents... slow or even no service at all... I have no idea if Smart Infinity subscribers are experiencing this as opposed to us Buddy users, but I'm just relaying my own experience.
Yeah, so Smart has 25 million subscribers. If they can give 5 million satisfied ones... now that would be a miracle that's simply amazing.
Marvin the Martian™, jaz thinking aloud
P.S. I will spread this around through different mediums. I just hope that Smart does something about it.
Currently enjoying "Breaking Free", performed by Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens.
Currently deciphering text messages.
Currently checking none; TV's already off.
Currently feeling dissatisfied.
