pick and roll
Tuesday,
June 10, 2014
9:12 AM
I am not a basketball fan (nor a sports fan in general :) ). I am oblivious to the terms
and rules the game applies. In a male-dominated workplace, I'd get woozy over
high spirited conversations involving games and plays. Men from the top down to
the ranks speak like its all in a basketball game. Seemingly coded, I cannot
disregard the intensity each word contains and the effect it brings to the men
(and very few women) out in the field. Today is no exception. The boss just
sent an email with a "pick and roll" message. To catch up, thank God
there's Google :) Quoting from Wikipedia;
The pick and roll (also called screen and roll or shortened to screen
roll, any of which may
be hyphenated) in basketball is an offensive play in which
a player sets a screen (pick) for a teammate handling
the ball and then slips behind the defender (rolls) to accept a pass. In
the NBA, the play came into vogue in the
1990s and has developed into the league's "bread and butter".[1] Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pick_and_roll>
For a moment I
forgot about the pending message I need to reply to. I got drawn into
visualizing (with Google photos haha...)
the new phrase I learned and how it relates to me. What prevails is my current
work situation wherein most often I would feel weighed down because of the
tasks that never seem to dwindle. Overwhelmed might be apt for the moment.
Before I get on with this, let me say honestly that I love what I do. I firmly
believe in my heart this work is a gift. In here I am able to maximize my
potential, do away with idleness and hone skills I never knew I can do. Not
only in the work per se but how it affects my personal life as well. Of course,
part of the gift is the responsibility to care for it. But more than what it is
to me, is how it is for my colleagues who labor each day. At least to what I
can see. I am a witness to their dedication and hard work. I can readily
pinpoint those who would sacrifice much of their personal time just to shoot a
few more goals to move the game. These men rarely get to see the sun set as
they fix their gaze on their monitors, one on one with *Clarity in a
do-or-die-end-of-day match, just so the numbers come clean and hefty at the
strike of seven. Bahala ug mamuti na ang screen
ug mata sa kadugay :) At times,
unintentional but integral to the work, one gets elbowed by the other and the
heat goes high. At the end of the day, when everything settles down, each would
say "part of the game" and moves along. Enduring the scorching heat,
weathering heavy rains and surviving internal pressures these people take it
one day at a time, one challenge after another. They console themselves with a
cup of coffee and a few jokes on the side to keep going. When time permits for
a short pause, they would share in bits how their family thrives. Men, I
realize always have a soft spot for their children. And all hardships get light
and bearable when the family they value the most come across their thoughts.
It's not even about the pay anymore, although admittedly it's what we all
aspire for, but for the person that sits across us and the many others in their
respective work stations across our side of the Island. To each, they readily
became the player who "picks" giving the other colleague the floor to
set up a play and "rolls" to receive the pass for a shoot. There are
no longer star players, we only have team mates. For each play, everyone banks
on each other to deliver one great game. One day at a time.
Gutsy and tenacious
team in Mindanao. That's how we were tagged when we closed the recent May with a whooping
dunk. But we are still far even from half-time. We cannot sit comfortably and
let the muscle pains get hold of us. We have a game to win.
