Looking Forward From Beyond The Clouds

One of the very first things a working person misses from his school days is the idea of a Christmas and a summer vacation. But even a working man can get a few day’s reprieve from the hustle and bustle a few times a year, to visit one’s family back in the province or elsewhere. As for me who works overseas, and literally over seas, it’s a different story.

My vacation has recently wrapped up, and I am now headed back to the waves. Back to reality, as it is, making my best efforts to make a better life. And it’s in these moments when I really miss home. “No place like home” is pretty much an understatement. At 40,000 feet midair, I’m already missing my routine back home.

I am currently on the second and final leg of the nearly 17 hours flight to London Heathtrow. The plane left Manila at midnight, and landed in Doha after nearly 10 hours for a connecting flight to UK. I am among those unfortunate people who cannot really sleep well during long flights, but for this set of two flights I was able to get some decent rest. I needed to, because the moment I get back to work, then rest would be just another thing that I miss.

As I write this, there’s still a three-hour stretch before arriving London Heathrow Airport. It’s a really beautiful city, so I’m really looking forward to being there. But three hours is still some time, so I am taking this time to write something for a blog update. It’s been some time, too! This one’s being written midair, and I’ve already consumed the complimentary data allowance of the plane’s wifi, so I’ll probably get to post this once I get to the ship.

Really, plane flights are good times for reveries. I’m watching the blue skies and the flimsy white clouds rolling past, and I feel a pang of guilt as I remember that I won’t be with my family for several months again. Still, there’s a ray of sunlight in the excitement I feel, being able to sail the seas again and go around the world. The chance to visit new places when the cruise ship docks is incentive enough.

All in all, I still have it good considering my line of work has all these great opportunities. Seeing the sights and sounds of the world… sure, it’s much better with my family by my side, but I’m driven forward by the thought that if I do my best, they will soon be my companion as I roam the world!

I will be posting an update again as soon as I can, but as for now, I bid my laptop goodbye to cram in several more minutes of precious rest!