it's been almost 3 years and i still do stand by the fact that I am going home after my US "stint"... or so I thought. Last night, I sorta gave in to the social elements and asked for Green Card information from my company. HR has been sending me mails on the topic since managers and eligible for the benefit (plus the fact that a GC application can tie you down for another 2 years... ugh) so I thought, what the heck. It's not that I'm serious about it, but things have somehow pushed me to do so. Here's my list:
1. career advancement - I became a project manager at age 27 on a company with 80,000 employees across the globe. Unless the CEO's my dad, it would have been improbable in Manila. Imagine what I can achieve in another 10 years.
2. family; both immediate and nuclear - obvious reasons, 'nuff said.
3. it's free - i think it's about 7000 USD for the entire process but the company's paying for it.
4. NFA rice - wow. i never thought i'd see the day when the Philippines will scrape for rice. what's next? water?
... and here's my list for not getting a GC before:
1. I don't want to.
2. Family and friends
3. I think there's hope for the Philippines (sans GMA)
Everytime I think of the options I have for permanent residency, it reminds me of my friends Shai and Olan. Last time I was in Manila, I think Olan was getting frustrated trying to understand why I don't want to stay in the US; i don't blame him, as I don't have a straight answer myself.
To be honest, everything just fell into place when I got here ---great apartment, nice job for me and the wife and we even had my yaya's visa approved... but somehow it just doesn't feel right.
The Green card question
being true
I was going through this blog for the Nth time and realized that there are a million reasons why people write their own. I for one would like to record bits of my life and stuff it in my own internet time capsule... and that someday my kid(s) or my kids' kids will read on and think that i'm not really that much of a psychopath. Facing facts, I guess i'm partly hoping that someone would read through this and think that there's more to the black background and white fonts but then again, I never gave my blog enough justice and for people to check back and see something new and interesting.
I'm not saying that I'm turning over a new leaf. I'll be what I'll be and probably think of a new direction; like of fatherhood, of hoping for the best for the Philippines and generally of ideas that I've always wanted to share. I commend Cynch, a very, very good friend of mine, for her blog which always spills out what's in her head. It's always a treat to read through it (even though I only know a handful of her friends) as it is very human... and very real for that matter. I'd describe it in a 500-word essay but on top of my head, I'd say it has "dimensions". So kudos to you Cynch and I hope to find the same purpose in writing.
Back after 16 months
Well, i'm back. After 16 months, i've reclaimed my blog and i'll try update my future self on what happened on 2008 as much as i can. So future vince, seeing that you'll be the only one interested in reading your own blog, here's what happened so far:
1. You just survived another year as UBS' project manager. Hopefully things will be better soon.
2. You stopped taking pictures which is ironic since you got your 18-200VR lens three months ago. better get back on track.
3. Your brother is staying with you until April or even beyond that.
4. You still owe a lot of money to american express so stop buying stuff...
5. Rafa is two and a half years old now, you need to potty train him
well, nothing interesting so far, seemed like 16 months passed by so quickly. i mean my h1-b stay is down by 3 (3 to go), i've hardly had any savings except for the boracay condo so what's the point in staying here?
rafa's first birthday
Been busy as hell the past few weeks, espcially now that everything in the office is in full swing (not to mention everyone else's nerves). Anyway, my son's birthday is coming up in a month so I just had to do his invites like I did in his baptism. One, because that's the only "intangible" that I could contribute being 20,000 miles away from home and two, it's hell of a lot cheaper than the traditional invite (although nowadays, I believe e-mail is the norm). Well, for you folks out there who actually read at my ramblings (read: 3 or 4 persons) , here's what it looks like:
My high dynamic range image
Seeing that anyone with a DSLR and a couple of memory cards can get into digital photography, I decided to venture into something different. Although quite arguable, a "real" photographer would still need skills but nowadays, that just doesn't cut it. Digital photgraphers need to evolve their "digtal-ness" from the mere camera and photoshop to more experimentation (and failure) thus resulting in my first take at high dynamic imaging:
My coney-island experience
"Coney Island?" yung ice cream? THAT would be a normal reaction in Manila. I had the misfortune of learning that Coney Island is actually a real "island". Yeah, beaches and amusement parks and hotdogs and everything. All is lost... maybe I should stop my quest to find my friend the Unicorn...
Anyway, here are a few shots that I took. The resizing is blogspot is awful, I would suggest clicking the image for the actual size before you say "this is crap".
My stupid external drive
Been trying to make it work for the past 4 hours to no avail... stupid, stupid, stupid. It's time for an RMA and matutulog na ko. Hopefully the online store takes it back without the stupid box.
