It's been what-- two weeks?-- since we were asked to explain via letter why we broke the OMYGODNO! rule of visiting pages that aren't related to work...
(As you already know, I was caught with some others viewing Wiki pages that are not related to work.)
So this morning, Mel, Mark and I huddled by Mark's cubicle and talked about it. Melo said someone from the other department was already suspended for using Skype during work hours (at least that's the reason I heard; Melo was whispering then).
Melo was getting paranoid about the whole thing. He'd never been suspended his whole life (which is what Mark and I were good at) and now here are these fifteen days, a big dark hairy thing looming over him like a *bleep*. XD
I tried to imagine how I'd feel if I do get suspended for 15 long days. And I thought about the 37 days I was absent because of pneumonia (that cold bitch!) and the money I didn't get for it (it was three weeks before I accumulated enough workdays to finally get my pay) and I just shrugged.
Sure, I can handle that suspension, I thought glumly. But that doesn't mean I want it to happen.
"Ikaw, Jay, maghahanap ka na ba ng ibang mapapasukan if na-suspend ka?" Melo asked. ("How about you, Jay, would you look for another job if you do get suspended?")
"Hindi," I told him. "Tinatamad pa akong mag-apply sa iba eh." ("No," I told him. "I'm still too lazy to apply for some other job.")
To which they both laughed.
So I guess we're all still waiting for the decision. Melo said maybe it wouldn't happen. We'll all get off scot-free. He thought we defended ourselves quite okay with the explanation letters.
Now, speaking of letters, here's the one I wrote.
Seriously, I wouldn't know a formal letter even if it begged me to write itself for me.
I like my job. It might take fifteen, excruciatingly long days before I get to do that job again, with me getting caught breaking the rules and all, but still, I like my job. It's my first one and I'm getting the real hang of it and still learning a lot everyday. I found out what I'm good at and i'm determined to hone it even more until it was as sharp as a master samurai's katana.
I admit that what i did was wrong. And you have my absolute promise that I'd never do it again.
But since I can't just write this without any explanation whatsoever, here's mine: Wikipedia is like caffeine to me. It may not be sugary-sweet or cough-bitter (and I haven't actually tried licking the monitor to determine its taste) but it gets the job done on waking me up when a task gets boring.
There were those times when I had to literally pry my eyes open to get on with my work. Coffee was a tepid solution and loud hiphop music from my player wasn't any help either. I could try having one of my officemates slap me awake-- that would probably work, but it would definitely hurt too.
And that's when Wiki comes in. It stirs me up real quick and after a minute's reading, I'd get on with my task with renewed vigor. It really helps. A lot. It beats sleeping the boredom off or having a talkathon with the next handy officemate.
It just so happens that the articles I favored are not work-related, and that was wrong. And I didn't have the idea that Wiki was also off-limits. But it was already done. I did wrong. I took advantage and I apologize.
I await and accept whatever decision the company sees fit.
There were some reactions to this letter.
My sister read it and said: "Wow, you do want to get suspended, don't you?"
Most of my officemates are amused, even Sir Andre smiled a bit when he read it. One of my more critical colleagues said, "How arrogant can you get?" And another told me, "You should make it more formal. Look at Melo's letter, that's the proper way of writing a..."
To which I thought, I don't really give a fuck about Melo's letter. I write stuff my own way. It is MY EXPLANATION, NOT HIS.
But I do appreciate the suggestion and knows that she meant well. But it'd be a cold day in hell before I take that advice.
I still stand by what I wrote, whether the suspension do get slapped to my face or not.
Jay Edma. Ex-Ghost. Leaf Drifter. High-Flyer. 7.19.11
