My Conscience

Let me first express how I feel so bad about being a jerk to my mail lady. I didn't say thank you to her or even acknowledged her when she said "thank you" to me and I feel really bad... I am such a jerk at times.

I could honestly say that I could never do any bad will to anyone who doesn't deserve it because my conscience will eat me for days. I don't know if having a strong conscience is a strength or a weakness, but one thing's for sure: I have a conscience.

Wikipedia defines conscience as "an aptitude, faculty, intuition, or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong" and is "described as leading to feelings of remorse when a human does things that go against his/her moral values, and to feelings of rectitude or integrity when actions conform to such norms."

I find having a good conscience as a strength because it helps me in making the right decisions and it protects me from the severe consequences of wrong decisions. Having a conscience is only a weakness when every one else doesn't have one. You'll end up being eaten, chewed, and spitted out by immoral people. Nevertheless, I try having a good balance with my conscience. I will follow the golden rule, "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself". Although the platinum rule ("people should treat others as those others would like to be treated") is better, my moral fibre isn't strong enough. I still prefer the "eye for an eye" logic.

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Photo credits to David Tanguay

I Finally Work In A Hospital

If you have visited my blog before, you may have noticed a change in my blog sub-header: from sales associate to food service attendant. I doubt that anyone would notice this but if you did then you must be a frequent visitor to my blog and for that I give you my gratitude. I'm actually pretty happy about the change in my job description as I've applied to hospitals for over a year now and I'm finally hired! Sure, it's not a nursing job but as long as I'm in the healthcare employee database, I'm happy with that.

I've promised myself that I would never get a job in food services since I had bad experiences before but food service in the hospital is different and I'm hoping that I would enjoy it. Some people asked me why I left my retail job for a job that is unrelated to nursing. Well, working at an electronic store is completely unrelated to nursing while food services in the hospital is kinda related to it. The promise of a better pay and the freedom from overly demanding customers is a pretty sweet deal as well.

I already went to the orientations and I'm going for my training tomorrow. I'm really anxious about this new job and I'm kind of doubtful if I made the right choice of quitting my retail job. On the bright side, the new work environment is pretty nice. Everything is brand sparkling new and the co-workers and bosses are pretty nice.

Oh boy, the new year always brings new surprises.

A Warning to Credit Card Holders

I urge everyone to read this warning. I received this e-mail from my mom and I'm glad I did. The email goes like this:

Just a heads up for everyone regarding the latest in Visa fraud. Royal Bank received this communication about the newest scam. This is happening in southern Alberta right now and moving.

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want..

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.

This information is worth reading By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself. One of our employees was called on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'MasterCard'.

The scam works like this:

Person calling says - 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460, Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona ?'  When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?' You say 'yes'.

The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud Investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number.. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works - The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'.  He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the last 3 are the Security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card.  The caller will ask you to read the last 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card  Do you have any other questions?'

After you say no, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do', and hangs up. You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back. Within 20 minutes to ask a question. We were glad we did!  The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card. We made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number.  What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them.  Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master Card directly for verification of their conversation..

The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit; however, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jason Richardson of MasterCard' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA Scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up!  We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening. I dealt with a similar situation this morning, with the caller telling me that $3,097 had been charged to my account for plane tickets to Spain , and so on through the above routine.

It appears that this Is a very active scam, and evidently quite successful.

Pass this on to all your family and friends

RANT: Apathy In My House

I thought that I might as well warn people before they read this post that this is a rant. I always rant on my blog to vent, so it's best to label my useless rants from my other posts. Anyway, words cannot express how angry I am and disgusted by the fact that my parents do not care what happens to this house. It is pathetic that I can't call this house my home as I do not want to live here anymore. The only sanctuary I have is my room, because this house is infested by the scum I call my "brother". God has punished me by cursing me to be related to this human trash.

I am so tired of cleaning up after my brother and his friends' mess! I am not the janitor in this house and I hate how our basement is slowly becoming a motel and a bar. I'm not surprised if they're doing drugs down there, but guess what? I don't give a shit anymore. If my parents don't even care then why should I? Although I did invest some money into this house, it isn't mine and I don't plan to stay here any longer. Once I graduate and start earning real money I will leave this shitty place in a heart beat. I will give my parents an ultimatum: I will help pay half of their mortgage if they ban my brother from bringing any of his crackhead friends over, if not then I'll leave and they will never see me again ever.

So right now I won't stress about this right now. My brother and his friends could burn down this house for all I care.

The Nanny Business

I recently saw this documentary on Global TV about "The Nanny Business". The documentary was about Filipino women coming to Canada to work as live-in caregivers with a promise of a Canadian citizenship after 2 years. It sounds like a great deal right? Like these women can bring their family into Canada to escape poverty in the Philippines. The catch is, you have to shell out huge sums of money to pay for processing fees and airplane tickets. On top of that, you have a great risk of falling prey into recruiting agency scams and find out when you land in Canada that you don't actually have an employer. If you do have an employer, you practically work day in and day out with less than the minimum wage and with unpaid overtime.

This is the reality of the nanny business and I have to be honest and say that it is truly heartbreaking to hear stories like these. It made me count my blessings and I am thankful that my family and I didn't have to be in the same situation. My family had the choice to move to Canada while other Filipinos are forced to work in harsh conditions and move away from their loved ones, just to support their families back in the Philippines.

I have friends who are temporary foreign workers and friends who have been nannies in the past and I really admire their courage and strength to face the experiences that they had to go through. It would be nice if the Philippine economy actually improved so Filipinos don't have to move to other countries just to get a better life.