@23

The year I turned 23 was 1982. If you’re 23 now, you may need to know that 1982 was way beyond World War II. I was employed as a design engineer and even if I was supporting no one financially, it was a huge challenge to afford going to work everyday. Daily expenses -bus/taxi fares, lunch, coffee breaks and hair growers were exhausting my paychecks before I got them. I couldn’t even afford buying a new watch which I needed then because my old one couldn’t keep up with time -I was always late for work.

So I started applying for jobs abroad as a dancer, massage therapist, splitter of atoms and as an electrical design engineer. Lucky for me -and for the other companies I applied in, I ended up in Saudi as a lighting engineer. By the time I turned 24, I was already on my own, cooking mostly decent and edible, doing laundry and ironing that I hated most. Thanks to some Pinoy families who adopted me as their pet, I sometimes got to eat more decent meals.

I made big and small decisions that gave rise to the person I am now. One instance when the company car issued to me consumed more oil than gas, I decided to buy my own - a second hand Mazda. I was given allowance per km of travel to projects sites which were mostly beyond 120kms away. With the allowances I received, I was able to recoup what I paid for the car and sold it at the same price I got it for. Good deal, eh?

My life’s third decade became my training ground for the life ahead. It was the time to make unlimited dumb mistakes and risky moves -I gave my self that.

That was then. This is me now -a bald coffee drinker!

Cheers! #MyCafeNotes #Turning23