“Homecomings” would be the top story of last year. After 3 years of living in HKG (and 2.5 years of asking myself “Why the heck am I here?”) I finally decided to pack my bags and head back home.
This was my last “official picture” in HKG, taken a few hours before my flight back to MNL. I arrived in 2005 with 2 bags – the black carry-on and my Samsonite laptop bag. When I left, I had 3 bags, and 10 boxes. Harhar.
As early December 2007, I knew it was time to go home. Most of my friends and batch mates at work resigned, some headed home and others headed to places with better “working conditions.” A few months after I quit, I found out that even our Managing Director packed his bags and decided to go back to his motherland. I knew that without these folks, working wouldn’t be as fun as it used to. And when work ceases to be fun, it’s the surest sign that it’s time to push the eject button.
Last November, when I had lunch with my former colleagues, they told me how I looked so relaxed and glowing. They also told me that 3 more of my friends quit their jobs. That made me even gladder that I decided to eject.
Aside from myself, a lot of people I know came home to Manila this year. Mark and the gang came home from Japan, Rommel and Lola O came back from Vietnam, and a lot of friends returned from Dubai, Guam and the U.S. Just yesterday, I found out that Gigi – my culinary partner in crime in HKG – also decided to finally come home after 3 years. Looks like birds of the same feather do come home together.
For me, homecoming meant more than just coming home. It meant coming back to people, places and things that I love. Among them was returning to the academe. After resettling, one of the first things I did was go back to school. By the 2nd semester, I found myself teaching again. The amazing thing was, it felt like I never left. It was like an old friendship that felt familiar even if we’ve been apart for years.
The only new thing in school is the fact that my former boss is now part of my faculty. So now, he calls me “boss”. Harhar.
“Leaps of Faith” would be another segment because this was pretty much what I did last year. Whenever an advertising person resigns from his or her job, you can be 98% sure that there’s a plan B or a next step. In fact, when I was CD at Adformatix and my creatives would resign, my first question would be: “So, saan ka lilipat?”
This year, I decided I wouldn’t move to another agency just yet. After those 3 years in HKG, I felt it was time for a sabbatical – a real one. When my “International friends” asked me what I planned to do after, my standard reply was: “I’m planning to just rest and do the things that I’m passionate about.”
Thanks to God’s good graces, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing the past months. Aside from teaching, I’ve been lucky enough to get a lot of good advertising projects in China. The nice thing about this is the fact that I can work from home, and only need to fly to Shanghai or Guangzhou for big projects. The neat thing about it is that I get to choose the projects I like and am passionate about.
On my trip to SHG last October, I was leafing through the in-flight magazine of CX and found that one of the ads during my sabbatical was already being run. The feeling upon seeing the ad was that of pleasant surprise, and it was the same feeling I got after seeing my very, very, VERY first print ad decades ago. (My very first print ad was for Finch Paints – is that brand still alive?)
Another ad that I did while I was in China was apparently picked up by the New York office. They were so impressed with the print piece that they decided to put it on the global website. Meanwhile – back in Manila – I’ve been given the opportunity to write for one of my dream accounts. In addition, I went back to writing lifestyle/business stories for SMC, another thing I missed doing.
All these combined make me feel so productive – yet relaxed. I’m so thankful that God has opened a lot of windows, each one with a spectacular view.
Homecoming and Leaps of Faith are both results of re-learning one important lesson this 2008 – “Taking Charge.”
So that’s what I did, I took charge of my life and did things I wanted to do, things I’m passionate about, and things I’ve always planned to do but was always “too busy” to accomplish. I wrote more, taught more, created more, planned more, and traveled more. In fact, I’ve even traveled with my Dad and Sister this year – something we haven’t done in a long time.
And of course, I shopped more. Let’s not forget that.
While this already sounds like belaboring the point, it’s actually just a small part of what made 2008 a great year. The other highlights of the year are floating in my head, and it’ll be better to list them down to put a bit of organization to the exercise.
That exercise, of course, will deserve another post.
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