The Virtual Job

I'm currently working on a project known as LNP (which stands for Local Number Portability) for MCI,a big telecommunication corporation. What amazes me the most is how virtual my job can be. Everyday I am in contact with seven or eight groups, distributed all along the United States and Canada. E-mails, telephone calls, Internet and conference calls are my daily tools. In matter of minutes, documents are distributed to people located in 10 different cities and half an hour later discussed in a conference call. As a sophisticated signpost, the Internet is used to post documents, news and information which is available to everybody. Through e-mail decisions are made, meetings arranged, deliveries approved, information shared.

Also everyday I have to be careful to keep in mind that embedded in all this technology are the people. Without the people on the other side of the phone or the computer which only sends the email, all this technology is trivial, meaningless. It already feels bizarre the fact that I have been working with these people for more than a year and I don't know how most of them look. Sometimes you build a mental picture of a person, and, if you ever have the chance to personally meet him or her, it probably won't look a bit like the mental image that you have built.

What's more, very rarely will you have the opportunity to know the person beyond the professional aspect of the business. And when you do, of course, you find that they are very much like you. Just people with families, needs, and lives. They are young or old, short or tall. They are real people. Then you realize and wonder how much you gain and loose with a virtual job.

Friends

Thank you Lord for friends.
You have made them in many kinds,
Who touche not only ones life but also ones heart.

Friends who are crazy and make me laugh;
And thoughtful friends who make me glad.

Friends who are trustworthy and keep me in check;
And handy friends who repair broken hearts.

Friends who are joyful and make me smile;
And careless friends who make me cry.

Friends who are bad and make me do wrong;
And good friends who lead me to light.

Thank you Lord for You have made them wonderfully.

Thank you Gustavo and Manny for your wonderful pieces of writing in English!! -Editor

Dr. Marti Dechesne submitted the above articles from students in his Business English EFI class.