Some updates about my life

I just don’t write something that hasn’t happened yet. I don’t know, as much as I’m an optimist, I am leaning towards pragmatism. I don’t give myself false hopes because, at the end of the day, it’ll hurt me so bad. As an air traffic controller for nine years, I have learned how to pre-plan my life, and plan at least ten steps in case shit hits the fan. 

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A few days ago, a creative idea just popped out of my awesome brain. Awesome. Yeah right. Anyway, so I was thinking of writing a book. Can you believe it? Well, I am not surprised. When I was in fifth grade, I began writing my novel. It’s a horror-comedy kind of book. It’s all about a family who just moved to a new neighborhood. Like your typical horror-comedy flick, the family lives happily while they settle in their new environment. And all of a sudden, strange things began to unfold. The family had a tomato garden in their backyard. Then their tomatoes started to grow big and began to develop teeth. You already know what happened. It’s morbid. It’s fun. But, I didn’t take the time to finish the book because I don’t know how to end it.

Maybe I just missed writing. Like, writing-without-being-forced-to-write-something kind of thing. Trust me, when you write something creatively, it’s hard especially when you lack inspiration. I honestly can’t picture myself working in a creative industry. My creative juices need to be replenished now and then. The problem is, I need long breaks in between. That can’t be done if I work at an advert company, for example.

Going back to the topic, I am thinking of writing something about my journey as an air traffic controller in the Philippines. You know, it’s my first job, been working for nine years already, and I am feeling sentimental just thinking about it, especially since I am LEAVING the country for good. I honestly don’t care about the reception after publishing it. But the fact that I published a book is already huge. I am also planning to publish my travel stories as well. These dreams are in the pipeline, and I am considering them. 

First Two Weeks

2022 welcomed us with a bang, like literally. For the first few days of the year, I have finally decided to resign from my online job. It's no longer making me happy, and I got burnt out from all those demanding tasks. Almost nine years of being an ATC, I have never experienced this before. Even hearing Slack's notification and the Aussie accent is making me anxious. So, I decided to resign. This job is one of my means to earn more for my show money and tuition fee for my Canadian dream. But no, I was no longer happy. I told my parents about what I was feeling, and they told me not to worry about it because they were willing to help me. For the first time, I felt free! Like a slave unchained from the clutches of his ruthless master!

It was the best decision I have made so far because everyone got tested positive back at my 'real' work, and we lack a workforce. Since the start of the year, I have been working endless hours to meet the minimum shift complement—good thing we are all getting paid for rendering overtime work.

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Speaking of which, we had an emergency online meeting in our cluster to discuss the procedures and our work schedule. I have this colleague who is an anti-vaxxer. Instead of discussing the main plan, he kept veering off-topic, like the anti-vaxxer's sentiments and the omicron variant being a 'Mother Nature's natural vaccine.' As the one who previously contracted COVID-19 last year and experienced isolation for 14 days, I lashed out. I was fuming mad because he completely disregarded science and presented dumb facts from conspiracy theories. I have friends who suffered and died from the virus, and I cannot just let it pass through. His sentiments scream injustice. I debunked what he said and left the online meeting after that. I can't stand the blatant ignorance. Every time I see him in the office, I feel indifferent. I don't care, to be honest. I pray that he will only experience mild symptoms if he contracts the virus. Otherwise, he will never get an ounce of pity if everything gets serious. I don't know; thinking of that particular moment makes me fuming mad. Anyway, we need to move on. It's already in the past, and I have to focus on beneficial things and make me happy.

Speaking of the things that make me happy, someone from UFA Technologies interviewed me for a possible job offer. Hours before the interview, I felt nervous because it'll be all over if I screwed this up. Plus, add that Jason speaks highly of me at the office, so imagine the pressure of keeping up with the 'gold standard.' The interview went really well, based on Neil's comments. I hope that this is the sign I've been waiting for. This pathway is better than the international student pathway because I don't need to shell out millions. But, who knows? Either way, I have more options to consider.

Anyway, this is getting long. The first two weeks of 2022 have been crazy.