Final Pay; SM South with Ivan

My husband and I went to DME today to pick up our final pay. We got there around 10 AM and were thankful to be the first ones there. I got to say hi and goodbye to my friends in the BPO department as well as to some people from publishing who were at the office early. I apologized for not bringing our son Stephen like I promised to. My son and I leave for the States early on the 28th.. 10 days from now so understandably, we’re running short on time.

We didn’t have to wait long to be seen which was good. We were also lucky to run into one of our friends who was also there early to pick up his final pay. He was kind enough to give us a ride to the bank to cash our checks and then drove us SM South. All 3 of us had lunch there at a Chinese restaurant called Flavours of China. We were all starving when we arrived so we ordered quite a bit.. Yang Chow Fried Rice, Lumpiang Shanghai, Mapo Tofu, and Grilled fish in garlic sauce. Yummy. Miraculously, we finished all of it but of course, we were stuffed. We thanked our friend and went our separate ways.

Being as full as we were, my husband and I decided to walk around the mall to get rid of our bloatedness hehe. After a couple of hours of window shopping, we went to Centerstage and sang karaoke for an hour. Most of the songs we sang were about love and goodbyes so I was feeling very emotional. I finally cried when Ivan sang Gary Valenciano’s song “How did you know?” I hate it that I’ll have to say goodbye to him in just a little over a week and I it breaks my heart every time I remember. I’m going to miss him so much.. I hope that when we get to be with each other again, it’ll be for good.

We told our yaya that since we got our final pay today that she didn’t have to cook dinner. She said she wanted to eat the “potatoes at Shakey’s” (mojos) again so we got her a basket of mojos and bought a Grand Slam Pizza for all of us. We went home and had a nice and peaceful dinner.

Today was pretty busy but will be nothing compared to what we have lined up this following week. Wish me luck!

Digital Media Exchange (Mobius) Retrenchment Part 3

I’d like to start my third and last post regarding this unfortunate event by quoting Mobius Games’ Official Statement posted on August 26, 2008:

In the constant effort to innovate and improve the quality and efficiency of our game support services, the company is working through right-sizing and changing in the job descriptions of its existing staff. Furthermore, it is regrettable that the company had to undergo this process of right-sizing but rest assured that these employees were not just let go and were given benefits as well as other opportunities within the company should they choose to accept those.

The company understands that there are risks involved with the shift in perspective but these have been reviewed prior to execution. The company is also aware that any decision it makes will have an impact not only internally but to the community as well. Furthermore, the strategic changes were not made to prioritize specific projects but to improve the overall level of service that the company offers to its subscribers. We are looking to reinvent the company into a better and stronger organization that brings the gaming experience of its community to new levels.

We would like to thank you in advance for your continued support of our current and future mobiusgames content.

I see no need for me to comment any further. I’ve already posted the information I know and the opinions I have. Although some have advised it, I will NOT edit any of my previous posts either.

It’s been about 10 days or so since everyone decided on which option to take. The people who decided to go with Option 1 are doing alright. I believe most of them are just taking a break right now. They get paid an additional month from the day they signed their resignation and they should be getting their final pay in the next couple of weeks. At least one has decided to go back to school. My husband, who was one of the people who took Option 1 is spending this month at home with me and our son. Our son and I go back to the States in a month while he stays here in the Philippines so we just try to look at what happened as a blessing in disguise for us. At least we get to spend more time with each other. He’s gone on a couple of interviews already including one with one of DME’s competitors hehe.

Not many chose Option 2. Anybody surprised? Nope. Not really. Until now, I don’t think anybody knows what they’re going to be doing and since I, myself am leaving soon, I will not be posting any information regarding this. Sorry.

People who went with Option 3 have already started on their new jobs and I’m very happy to say that they are doing fine and adjusting quite well. They’re a bit culture shocked like I expected them to be, but fine nonetheless. I see them in the morning when I’m about to start my shift and they’re just about to leave.

Although you will still probably be seeing them around, I’d like to say that the people who got to stay in Publishing are doing their best to keep everything under control. We have to understand though, that they can only do so much.. we all know now that there are things that are just beyond our control. I still have friends there and I get to see them still but it’s hard not to notice the big difference there now. Everybody’s missing everybody.

I wish all of them the best of luck. I am hoping that someday, they all get the recognition, respect, and compensation they deserve.. not necessarily with Digital Media Exchange, but wherever they may be.

“Goodbye is not forever.. farewell is not the end.. but in my heart’s a memory.. and there you’ll always be.”

Digital Media Exchange (Mobius) Retrenchment Part 2

… about an hour after, my shift ended. I quickly logged out of my computer and walked to the game publishing’s side of the office. On a normal night around that time, you’d see the game masters on their computers muttering profanities while playing DotA but the scene I saw that night was totally different. I could see that some of the girls had been crying, some were in small groups talking, and of course there were some that preferred to be left alone. Their shift had ended over an hour ago but none of them felt like going anywhere yet. I’d usually be nagging my husband to leave as the clock ticked 10 PM but even I didn’t wanna go home. It was like being in a bad dream..

I walked over to my husband where he was talking with one of the other game masters. They were talking about how they kinda knew it was gonna happen eventually, just not that soon.. especially since DME had just launched Closed Beta Testing of Dekaron. For months, it had been hyped up to be THE game to save the publishing department.. THE game that was going to bring the much needed revenue MU and Rakion had not been able to provide for some time now. Some actually thought that there was finally going to be room for advancement but now they realized how badly mistaken they were.

Not all were going to be retrenched. They actually spared a handful of people. They knew that they couldn’t just get rid of everybody at the same time. I can’t go much into details but let’s just say that it seems that their main focus right now is on Dekaron.. but as to the other games, I don’t really know.. *sigh*

Some of us finally decided to leave around 10:40 or so. No goodbyes were uttered yet because they all still needed to come back on Tuesday (August 19th) for a 1 on 1 meeting with Human Resources. They were given 3 options to think about:

Option 1: Resign, get paid for 1 more month + separation pay and 13th month pay.

Option 2: Participate in this “Pilot Program” which will be Scott Countryman’s experiment for about a month. The base pay will be lower but according to Mr. Countryman, they will have the opportunity to make additional money with commission-based sales. Until today, the exact job description of people who decide to try this out has yet to be confirmed. (a bit shady in my opinion..) If the program is successful, they will be able to stay in the company. If not, will have to choose again between options 1 and 3.

Option 3: Move to the BPO Department. They will have to pass an exam and be interviewed AGAIN. Their pay will be about the same but since I’m currently in the BPO Department, I know that whoever decides on Option 3 will experience major culture shock. The games we handle are in no way like the games we publish.. the games in BPO are web-based flash games.

As I’m writing this now, the decisions have already been made and the papers have already been signed. I will give you the latest updates in my next post… which will probably be my last post on this unfortunate but hopefully a blessing in disguise event.