Yim Hao Yan: Early Mornings, Late Bladders, and Unexpected Lessons

February 1, 2010

I’m already halfway through my OJT—and it’s so much more than formatting, networking, and troubleshooting. This chapter has taught me unexpected extracurricular lessons too: like how to hold your bladder from C5 Road to Santolan, or how Jason and I unmasked a mysterious Camp Aguinaldo employee. Read on.

4:00 AM Wake-Up Call

The pandesal vendor’s war cry that yanked me out of bed. Rubbing sleep from my eyes—while my neighbors still had crusty goop in theirs—I scrambled to shower and suit up for OJT.

A ten-minute ride later I was in town. The Don Mariano bus was already filling up, and everything seemed on track, until my bladder started screaming. Crossing C5, I prayed to every saint I could name, but the urge only grew more urgent. I couldn’t get off (wasting P27), and I wasn’t sure I’d even catch another ride. I learned that day: Patience is a virtue—and great practice for avoiding UTIs.

The Perpetual Drop-Off
For days, Jerry and I “rode together” to OJT—except that really meant his mom dropped us off at random points: Cubao, North Avenue, sometimes Quezon Avenue. It depended on the planets’ alignment or the wind direction—who knows? The fare dropped to P9, so we didn’t complain.

Behind Closed Doors
One morning as Jason and I were tinkering in our department, Sir Robert (our technical head and Jason’s godfather) barked down the hallway:

“The printer won’t print! Go fix it—downstairs!”

We tip-toed out and descended a creaky staircase, arriving at a heavy, outdated door on the right. Sir Robert swung it open and led us inside. Two smaller rooms lay beyond; in the first, everything was pristine—spotless tiles, strict order. At a desk sat a portly man whose belt was nowhere to be seen under his ample belly. He and Sir Robert chatted while we fidgeted with the printer cables: a nudge here, a tweak there…voilà—printing magic.

The Gaze Through the Glass
As we packed up, I spotted movement through a window into the next room: a slim figure with longer hair and glasses, eyeing us head-to-toe. Unable to resist, he peeked around the doorframe and, in the sultriest tone, greeted Sir Robert:

“Oh, hey Pre!”
“What’s up, Pre?”

We’d met the mysterious employee—let’s call him “Rico.” After a quick debrief, Sir Robert ushered us into Rico’s quarters. He eyed Jason’s darker complexion and my fair skin, joked about our body hair, and then hit us for our phone numbers: “I need to set up a PC—do you guys text?” I nearly volunteered Jerry and Bok’s numbers as my escape plan, but Jason went first…so I gave Rico my number. He walked away victorious, contact info in hand. Sir Robert finally intervened:

“All right, Pre, we’ve got work in the next department—go on ahead.”

We escaped.

Lessons Beyond Tech
I’ll never forget February 11, 2010: the thrill of a light brush against my hand, playful banter from another guy, and the realization that OJT was teaching me much more than computer skills. Jason and I were mastering real-world strategies—how to think on our feet, read people, and handle unexpected encounters.

Back to Work
After patching the network, formatting four PCs, and installing Microsoft Office 2007, Jason and I strolled back to our division—recounting every detail of Rico’s secret room. We’d just crossed the threshold when…