What your priorities are defines you. It is a fact that what you consider essential in life really determines what your next move or actions will be. I look back at the Year 1999 where, I have already moved up to be a Manager, but still had the desire to make more money. I was working for a leading Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and had received a juicy offer from a competitor company based in Indonesia. The Salary was almost 4 times my current
I accepted the offer and was soon on my way to a foreign land on October 1999. The Singapore Airlines flight I rode was flying to Changi Airport (Singapore) as there was no airport in Batam Island where I was scheduled to work. After arriving in Changi airport a fellow OFW waited for me and we then took a cab to WTC(World Trade Center) where we a took a ferry(30-minute ride) to Sekupang port. We then took another cab(an old one this time) and arrived in a house where I was supposed to stay as an expat in the stated Indonesian Island. I met at the house Rod Zepeda whom I used to work with in Amkor Technology at the Customer Service Department.
It is funny how your lifestyle changes when you are living or working in a different country. Compared to Singapore, Indonesia was a nightmare. I knew Singapore years back as I had a chance to go to this country previously during business meetings. I dreamed of working overseas in a progressive country like Singapore. Batam Island seemed like a step back on my career plans. Moving to another country was one thing, but living in a house all alone where people were different in culture and beliefs was another heartbreak altogether. Notwithstanding my frequent disagreement with my boss, I decided to go back after 6 months. Working in Batam proved one thing. Money was not everything. All the key ingredients for me to stay there were not existent. It was the longest 6 months I have experienced in my entire life.
I never regretted going to Batam. Life has a funny way of teaching us how to value some things better than others. The experience made me realize how important being with my family was. Boy, did I ever miss my family during those times. As history would have it, I was back at my old company April of 2000 and had my second child by September. The struggles we encounter do mold us in a certain way. It is what we do with those challenges that determine where we will be headed. That was what I did. I made a decision and never looked back........ Always excited about what life has to offer......
