Thoughts Along Japanese Waters

At the prodding of my digicam sponsor, Lucy, here I am making a blog entry. I know it’s been long since I last posted anything here. So get ready. This might be long.

Oops, scratch that. This WILL be long. :)

I’ve said this many times before. Every time I start ‘re-blogging’ there always seems to be so much to say. So much going on in my mind. So just let me start out with the latest stuff and proceed from there...

Right now I am here on board the vessel Majestic Maersk, using my friend Mark’s laptop to compose this blog entry. It is 10:42pm Japan time and we are sailing towards Shanghai and expecting to arrive at that port on Sunday. So what has been up with me and why, of all places, am I here?

Let me first start out with saying that I currently work in Maersk’s office in Mandaue City, Cebu. Yes, now I live on my own in a rented apartment (more like a room, actually) in an area called Mabolo which is within 5 minutes of Ayala Center Cebu, SM City Cebu and the famous CnT Lechon. This is my fourth and last rotation. I will be going to my last module in Copenhagen in May and will (hopefully) graduate from the MISE program by then. And yes, to answer that question in your mind, I will be expatriated afterwards, which can happen anytime between mid-2006 or early 2007.

So back to the Cebu thing. I flew to Cebu on January 8th and moved in to my place around a week after that. It was Sinulog weekend then, which is, I think, also one of the reasons why my brother volunteered to fly in and help me move my stuff. Hehe. But anyway, since then there have been quite a few challenges with this really new chapter of my life.

There is the issue, of course, of being on my own for the first time. I thought I would enjoy it, the freedom, the independence. I thought I would enjoy being alone with no parents and no curfew – with a company car that’s constantly filled to the brim with the gas that can bring you anywhere you want to. Well, to a certain extent, this is true. It is enjoyable, but only until the time when the reality of being alone kicks in. I am not ashamed to say that a number of times I really cried inconsolably. I miss home, I miss my family, I miss Manila, I miss my friends – sometimes it really will drive you crazy thinking about all the many things that you are missing.

But everyday I do make the choice of bringing myself to the office and drowning myself in work. And trust me, there’s more than enough to drown myself into. Haha. Let’s just say that Cebu is quite short-handed at the moment and there’s a lot of work to go around… And yes at times I have broken down from the work, feeling completely burned out, but really I’m glad that I can still pull through it… At the end of the day, work is work, that’s that, no amount of complaining can really make it go away.

It has been a little over a month since I moved to Cebu. And trust me, what a rough month it has been. There has also been that issue of quitting and leaving Maersk, but that of course is nothing new. Hehe. Actually my plan is to just take one day at a time and making the most out of the experience by doing just that; I know soon this will be over and I will be moving on to the next chapter of my life and my career.

So, still in line with the MISE program, I take this vessel tour. Last Wednesday I flew into Tokyo with Mark. That, may I say, was one of the most unforgettable flights of my life. “Why?” you wonder. Well, by some stroke of luck, I was on business class! :) Until now I’m not really sure what happened, whether it was a wrong booking made by Jaq (she’s my officemate who arranges our plane tickets when we go to international destinations) or if I was just bumped up by Northwest Airlines (it was my first time to use that airline) but nevertheless, it was my first time on business class! The ride took only less than four hours, though. How I wish it was one of our long-haul flights to Copenhagen! Now would I love to spend those 13 grueling hours on business class… *sigh*

At around 1pm we arrive at Narita Airport and made our way to our hotel called the Shinagawa Prince. That night our MISE batch mates took us out for dinner at this really cool place in Shibuya, which by the way is what they call the Times Square of Japan (and rightfully so; the neon lights and giant lcd screens were amazing). The food was G-R-E-A-T. Mark of course was a big fan of Japanese food, and by the end of that night, I too became a convert.

The next day we feasted on yakitori (yum!) and tempura (double yum!) for breakfast. It seemed to me that we spent too short a time in Tokyo because by lunchtime we were already making our way to Yokohama to board the vessel. By 4pm we were sailing out of the port and we said goodbye to our brief but memorable Japan experience.

(Fast forward to 21 February) Now it’s been roughly a week and soon we will be disembarking in Hong Kong and bidding goodbye to this vessel. Bittersweet, yes, but boy am I excited to be back on land! Don’t get me wrong; we did have a great time here. We saw our theoretical knowledge in action and we got the chance to go to places on board the vessel which I never imagined I’d ever get to see (The cargo holds! The bridge! On top of a hatch cover! Inside a lifeboat! That place where Leo diCaprio shouted “I’m the king of the wooorld!") – yep, we were there! But after a week on board, sailing the high seas and calling some major Asian ports, I would really like to go back to the comforts of being on land. Not to mention leaving the ship’s constant vibration and motion as it moves with the waves.

And so let me leave you with these thoughts… surely by the time I post this blog entry I will already be on land and perhaps by then I can look back on this vessel tour with some more insight. Right now… I just really want to get back home. :)

Realizations from Cebu

It's just an hour's plane ride away. My morning office trip from Las Pinas to Ortigas is often far longer that that. But Cebu... Cebu... Cebu is not Manila. And it can make you think about a lot of things.

Over a lunch of the yummiest lechon I've tasted so far, Stella and I remembered the line "Dance like no one's watching." so we immediately googled this phrase and came upon this text.

*sigh*

That's all for now...

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another.

Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are.

After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.

If not now... when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza:

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time ... and remember that time waits for no one ...

So stop waiting until you finish school...
until you go back to school...
until you lose ten pounds...
until you gain ten pounds...
until you have kids...
until your kids leave the house...
until you start work...
until you retire...
until you get married...
until you get divorced...
until Friday night...
until Sunday morning...
until you get a new car or home...
until your car or home is paid off...
until spring, until summer...
until fall...
until winter...
until you are off welfare...
until the first or fifteenth...
until your song comes on...
until you've had a drink...
until you've sobered up...
until you die...
until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy ...

Happiness is a journey ... not a destination.

Thought for the day:

"Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching."

Straight From Karlslunde, Part 3

I wasn't going to let the module pass by without posting on my blog straight from strange, strange Karlslunde. For the third time I am united with my fellow psycho MISE's from all over the world for two weeks of indescribable experiences.

The module is actually coming to a close now. I arrived here last 15th of October and today, 13 days, 3 exams, 10 days of 10-hour classes later, I'm getting ready to leave. As always, leaving is bittersweet.

But then again, I miss home. I really, really do.

And sadly, home would have to wait another week...

Something Venti from Starbucks

I sincerely believe that the gravity of one's problems is reflected on the size of one's Starbucks cup during those problematic times.

I just bought a Rhumba Frapuccino. Venti.

Perecletus once said...

It is in change that we find purpose.

'Nuff said. For now.