An Owl's Life

I was once called an Owl, why? ‘coz they say I have big eyes, especially when I’m surprised or trying to intimidate someone. But for two years now, I’ve been living a life of an owl. Well, setting aside the big eyes issue, it’s coz I’m working graveyard or better known as “night shift”.

Here are some of the analyses I’ve compiled while working as an Owl:

1. Night differential. Talk about the money.

2. No traffic. Coz you’d always do the opposite of what the normal human beings do. (You go to work – Normal people go home, vice versa).

3. Happy bank account. Coz you save more. So many reason why:
a) No gimmicks on Friday night.
b) Too tired to go out on Saturday, better sleep.
c) You do not need to buy prepaid credits since you wouldn’t have that much textmates, not unless your sweetheart is a guard, taxi driver or an owl like you.
d) No after-work shopping, coz malls don’t open at 6am and you’d be too tired to wait for the 11am opening.
e) No weekend shopping. Coz you’d rather sleep. In short, the mall will be missing you so badly.
f) No dates/gimmicks. Coz your sweetheart or even friends live a normal life.(Not unless they'll have a midnight lunch date with you or their an owl too).
g) Lastly, lesser medical bills, coz you’d be too scared to visit your doctors. What you don’t know won’t hurt you, not unless it’s hurting you already.

Most pinoys of my generation is living the same life. Either their working in a bpo (business process outsourcing) and/or call centers. And where are all these owls nest came from? It’s none other than jobs from the west that were transferred to developing (aka poor) countries like PI, for lesser salary expense and cut cost.That’s one of the advantages and disadvantages of the information age for it became so easy to communicate and transfer data and information globally, at any time and place. The advantage is yours if you know how to play it for it has a high earning potential.

However, there’s also disadvantage of this global move and I’ll share to you two instances:

* THE VICTIMS
The financial crisis experienced by the west countries 'coz most jobs were outsourced. Such resulted the increase in the unemployment rate that chained effect the problem of normal Joe’s inability to sustain his/her high lifestyle, for his usual JOB SECURITY ceased existence. Like a rubber at night, it left him pennyless 'coz they weren’t prepared. Their most treasured high-paid job can already be done abroad, for a lesser cost that they couldn’t compete at.

* THE BENEFICIARY or is it?
For developing countries, such is seen as an advantage for available jobs increased. BPO firms occupies more than 50% of the job employers today that's why most of my generation who are staying in PI are working in these firms. The only good news I see with this is it helped the economy of PI by providing temporary job to pinoys. When I say temporary is because of the mobility of the job plus for health reasons. Such jobs cannot provide job security for its mobility can cause a BPO to close down anytime and be transferred somewhere else cheaper with same quality. We clearly see it by the number of retrenchments that’s happening nowadays. While for health reason, imagining yourself working at night for 10years, will surely make you think otherwise.

Our beloved country belongs to the group 2, the beneficiary, and I’m one of those. But what will I do about it knowing these things?

As for me, I’m planning my way out by educating myself to learn ways on how to be free. Such financial freedom is what motivates me to move forward in learning as much as I can. But as they say, learning is nothing without action, so I choose to take actions too. And sooner or later, I know I’d be free from this owl’s life, to live a more normal, healthy and financially free life. :)

What about you, are you doing something?