Goodah and beyond

When asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, there were only limited choices. My usual friends would pick being a doctor, teacher, or businessman. My choice was to be a businesswoman. For some reason, I think it was the only thing I was exposed to since my family never had teachers or doctors. We were all in business.

After college, after taking up management of applied chemistry, I joined the workforce and when the opportunity of handling Goodah came up, I volunteered. I thought it was the right path or at least the right step to know the works of business. True enough, I really did learn a lot but more of the operational side. If you ask me how to start up a business, I still wouldn’t know, particularly because of the processes of filing permits and stuff. The legalities are just so complex. I still thought that I made the right choice. I am made for business.

However, after a year of handling it, I felt the nagging feeling of wanting to do more. People would always say, “wow, you have your business na. It’s great you can work at your own time.” It is both a privilege and a boredom. For one, I can work anytime I want. On the other hand, I don’t feel like I’m really working or I’m contributing or growing. All I did was check on the store and made sure operations went smoothly. Maybe I went into business at a very early age. I still had yearnings to use my intellect, be challenged with colleagues who are competitive. At some point, I felt rusty and dumb. So this is what business feels like.

Now that we’re coming into a close, I must admit I still would miss Goodah. It has been my one year playground, getting scratched, wounded and even burned. It was a disaster at times yet I enjoyed no matter how much I complained how tired I get after a day’s work. Right now, Im just looking for stress that didn’t involve emotional or physical stress. I’d rather be stressed for reasons that will improve my intellect rather than just doing manual labor. It’s still an experience though. This I can share to my kids and grandchildren that I was once a princess doing all the dirty job. I was president yet I submerge my arms in garbage.

Whatever I learned from Goodah, the best part is that I was able to learn how to be boss. Right now, I think I am more in control. I am more assertive. I am also more disciplined and I walk the talk. I valued the small tasks that contributed to the brand. The hundreds of times I swept the floor, cleaned the dishes and threw garbage, it taught me how to be humble, be a good example, and that you can’t be entrusted with larger responsibilities if you can’t even clean up your own little mess. True enough, maybe Goodah wasn’t really for me to know how to set up my own business, but it really taught me more. It has been one emotional and physical roller coaster for me since I entered Goodah and now I’m ready to conquer a different setting.

Beyond Goodah lies all the possibilities of becoming who I really want to become. I’ve learned things the hard way. God never gave it to me easy but he did listen to my prayers. In my heart, Goodah will still be the best restaurant for me. No other restaurant can ever replace it in my heart. As I know myself, I am always loyal to the places I work for, be it in MTC and Avida. I’ll probably still patronize Goodah in other branches. Goodah tapsilog is still my favorite and will always be. Thank you for all the people who have been part of my Goodah 2011 experience. ♥