Lexmark and what they had to offer

I showed up for a whole day activity of Lexmark goodness. I answered a fairly intermediate writing exam. I had to admit, my brain was somewhat jolted. I showed up wearing my favorite shoes, the old Crocs and I got into an argument with a guard who considered them slippers. FYI, Crocs aren't damn slippers! We came to a compromise wherein Crocs were sandals. Ok fine. Sandals aren't part of the dress code. I know better now.

After that exam, I was interviewed by two lovely ladies who I gave my blog link to (I hope you comment ;) ). I was asked a series of questions regarding my previous employment. I told the truth. This was the first interview I ever had wherein I told the actual truth. These ladies were so warm and friendly, I just couldn't BS them.

I asked what type of pay am I going to expect. They didn't give me a direct answer. They told me that it would be based on my experience and how I did on the exam. I'd give myself 20k. Hee hee. But I know it's not up to me. Anyway, I also asked about the working schedule. They told me it was somewhat flexible. I could show up anytime from 8am-10am which is about the time I'd like to show up at work anyway. So that's ok, I guess.

I had lunch with my dad at a nearby mall before my next interview. Here's how it went: Since I was already telling the truth, I was interviewed by the manager. I told her about my previous employment as well and she asked me a series of questions. She also asked me a question that took me by surprise. "If my current employer gives me a counter offer, will I take it?" It took me some time to answer. I thought for a bit before opening my mouth. Again, without any BS, I told her that because of the my "job stability", I was inclined not to. I'm really used to lying to HR personel and managers. However, Lexmark gave me the impression that they were warm and accomodating. I just couldn't bring myself to lie to them even if I wanted to.

I learned something today that I should have learned a long ass time ago: The truth shall set you free.

Work work work

For our company to have a working network via the internet, we needed the help of a VPN. We initally subscribed to PLDT's Shops.work but it just isn't working out. At first, we were so okay with the idea. The thought that we would be able to get connectivity between all our sites was like bliss to us. And if there was a problem, PLDT would just take care of it. Well, our high hopes blew up in our faces. We were having more problems than what we bargained for, and PLDT did not take care of all of them. We decided to scrap the service.

Now, we were stuck wanting to set up our own VPN. Animansys, an IT company ran by Jimmy Alvarez, proposed a solution. It was going to be a VPN and Remote Access combined. Our data would still be recieved from our sites but the terminals recieving them were located at our main office. Meaning, there would be no actual data transfer over the network, just a remote server to receive the data. It sounded so good. I loved it. However, it costed a fortune. Our company wasn't willing to pay.

Now, we found a more cost effective solution. We enlisted the help of one of the IT Gods here in our country, RQ. He came up with a real solution. All we needed was to purchase a VPN server for our main office, and we just connect to there from our sites. Then a couple of remote access servers using Slackware and VirtualBox. And we're set. RQ did everything. I just have to familiarize myself with Slackware and Mikrotik RouterOS so that I can make it more customized. But it's fine just the way it is.

On the other hand, Lexmark gave me a call. They asked if I was interested in a Technical Writer position. From where I'm standing now, a Tech Writer position would be a step down for me. However, it's Lexmark calling, the big boys. So I don't know. I'll just show up and see what they have to offer. I don't have any final decisions yet. I just want to see where the winds of destiny blow me.