Ika 2 ng Pebrero 2009: Life is a Gamble

Bruised egos that refuse to accept defeat try all sorts of gimmickry to mask their sorrow. That is how it feels like these days as the roars of laughter from those hurt by the changing of guards sound so shallow and pathetic........ making us believe they are alright but they are definitely not. This charade is being shown as a last-ditch effort to salvage whatever little pride they have from having to leave their power very soon when they say goodbye to the abuses perpetuated while their idol was in total control.......... This won't be for long........ so savor your last days before you are placed in the lion's lair.

I have known defeat in a number of instances and have managed to turn some of these experiences into valuable lessons that would aid me later in some stages of my life. This is the same lesson learned by someone who's been there, done that, and cleaned up well.

I met up with this old colleague of mine last Friday. He has been based in Bangkok for the last 13 years. I met him because I wanted to find out some tourist destinations there. A friend from the US is planning to go there and bring me along. Both of us are not familiar with the place. I was there once to attend a training for a week but I never had enough chance to tour the nice spots. I and another Filipino participant was brought instead by a co-trainee to the forbidden city of Pat Phong thinking that we wanted to go there........ but we didn't actually. I got an exposure I have not seen before ..... so I might as well learn from it. My Pinoy companion, a newbie, wasn't into that thing either. But it was too late to leave by the time we were inside the show area. We didn't know how and we might get lost in a foreign land. Suffice it to say that it was not a very pleasant experience......

So as not to have a repeat of that event, I figured it's better to ask someone who knows his way and I could relate to without pretensions. My friend is thinking of three days and two nights tour package and we wanted to maximize enjoyment within that period. My former colleague gave me good suggestions on what to do with the trip which I shared with my friend.

Back to my story about this former colleague and how he is now a permanent resident of Thailand. Thirteen years ago, he was sent there for a training by our office. He met a fine Thai lady in that training and decided not to come back. Probably, he was thinking about trying his luck in a foreign country as he brought some money to tide him up the first few months. He was a regular office worker here. He has a wife and five kids. Life was not so good.

In short, he did not come back to fulfill his contractual obligation to the office which is the service he was supposed to render for a certain period to compensate for the expenses paid by the office for the training. He was blacklisted from the office for doing that. But even more sadly, he abandoned his family.

I left the office shortly and never heard about him until his friends were raving about his new-found success. We weren't really close but not too distant as well. So I asked one of his friends for his email address and got in touch. He responded and told me he would be here and we could just meet up. He called me as he promised once he was here and we met up for lunch.

It would be a lie if I say I am not interested in what happened to him and how he made it. He said he got his taste of the difficulty of being an illegal alien. But Bangkok would be kinder to one who speaks English better than their national. He shifted expertise and learned by reading and training. Judging from his story, he has been to places working for some companies in the US and Australia and some other places.

He took a risk and it paid off. As we were discussing, we couldn't help but go back to our officemates who are still in that same office having the same position. I also took a risk and went some places before landing this job at another office in the same Department. We shared that story of taking a risk and moving out to find our luck. Just like him, I would not want to be stuck in the same position and so I went out.

I wouldn't condone his sins to his family which now counts among the dysfunctional families here. His children are now with his parents while his wife here has since remarried and has her own family now. He sends his children to school. He is also married to the Thai lady and has a kid with her. He is also a Vice President of an IT firm. He speaks more confidently now compared to the giddy guy I have known him to be. He was one of those funny boys in the office. And maybe would have remained as such had he not taken a risk......

Sinner or saint? Be the judge...... He was candid enough to admit his mistakes. He told me he came back to our old office with two cakes as a peace offering.

Now if only my colleagues would be just as candid, things might still work around here starting today .......

PS: Ang sakit ng likod ko dahil sa trabaho kahapon. Dami pa nakalimutan..... ano ba naman yan? Sakit ko to pag Lunes.