I have been working since April this year and so far it was tolerable. Not until stress and fatigue got me down last week. There had been a lot of changes lately and a lot of people seem to be very demotivated at work. I try to perk things up by acting as a clown and providing motivational chats with my colleagues but it just became too much to bear for me.
So I ran away.
Not really for good but at least for three days. I ran away from the city and hid on one of the nearby islands in Luzon.
I went to Sabang, Puerto Galera since it’s just a four hour away trip from Manila and there’s a decent snorkelling area that won’t require additional boat trip to boot.
A brief history
Nine years ago when I was still with the first company that I worked for, someone promised or made me expect that I would be promoted to a higher position (which during that time mattered to me a lot). I was only 19 and to be promoted as an office manager seem to be a very good deal. And then it didn’t push thru. The reason given, I can do the job but I’m too young for it.
Bullsh*t!!!
I filed for a vacation and started hunting online the nearest island I can go to.
It was, Sabang, Puerto Galera.
This was the first solo trip I did in my life.
History Repeats Itself ?
Well not really.
The reason behind I was here again is not because of the promotion I wanted (because I don’t care about it anymore) but rather because I got tired as what I have said awhile ago and wanted a brief escape from everything.
I took this time to do some improvements in my blog and at the same time test my new snorkelling mask (which is actually very nice).
Blogging while Pigging out
P.S.
Just quitted my job a week ago!
Congratulations on leaving your job :). Life is too short to stay in a job that brings you down. And as you know, once you've experienced life outside the cubicle you see there is so much more out there than getting that promotion or payrise, and cubicle life becomes even more unbearable than the first time round. Time for an adventure! Good luck!
ReplyDelete@karin: this is my dilemma now karin... now that i have tasted freedom... i couldnt stand to stay in the office... but i know after a few months time i would go back again, though on a different company that is... until i find a way to live without employment... im working on it though... (sigh)wish me luck! :-)
ReplyDeleteFlip I feel your pain because I'm going through exactly the same thing myself. Having returned from Asia I can't stand anything about life back here. I've returned to 'the cubicle of work' and spend my days trying to tell myself that it's only until I can leave again. But, like you, I know I will come back to that cubicle again and struggle with my life and feelings all over again just as I am now. Let's hope we can both get through this in time and find a career that will keep us travelling :) Take care of yourself xx
ReplyDelete@toni: thanks toni... 'hope we bot escape the insanity of the cubicle world... soon!
ReplyDeleteWow, CONGRATS on leaving your job that is so awesome!!! Everytime I walk in to my job I wanna just go in there and scream I QUIT, but I cant at least not yet. I am planning my RTW trip and when I am ready (11 months) I will be cutting the cord and walking away!!! When I do that Ill be free to travel the world till the $$$ runs out. I figured if you traveled for 6 months on $600 i can travel a few years on $15,000...lol!!! I am so excited & congrats again!!!
ReplyDeletehey flip! i don't know if I should congratulate you for leaving the toxic cubicled life or be saddened for being jobless for now. traveling as we know is a two-edged sword. it gives us the wildchild wonder or give us a big dent in the pocket. i hope you will find the best of both worlds soon--that is, working and traveling all at the same time...
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! Have you saved enough for another long trip?
ReplyDeleteits funny that now that i am working, i earn money but i cannot travel. how's that?
ReplyDeleteso imagine you're feeling, unhappy with work and cannot travel, i won't be surprised if you're out somewhere now maybe some place unheard of, because you knew you needed that break a long time ago.
we're not born rich, if we were, then we wouldn't probably worry about earning money, but since we need to work, we cannot afford 1 year out on the road. :(
dapat kasi merong 30 VL's per year. :)
ReplyDeletewow, been a long time since i dropped here...anyways, wish i could do that too, escape that is, but all i got is 30 days a year of VL!
ReplyDeletenow where or what are you up to?
@jaime: thanks! wow $15000, that's a lot, i met a british couple in china and they are travelling without spending their savings... they work along the way... i learned it from them... btw, check out sadhana forest in pondicherry india, you can stay there and volunteer
ReplyDelete@RV: congratulate me... hehehe... im trying to be optimistic... every decision that we take leads us to a better place...
@Jerik: I'm not somewhere yet, but i'll fly out soon... i think we can afford a lifetime on the road... we just need to be creative on how to do that... again just trying to be optimistic hehehe
@yuuki: wow... that's a lot yuuki 30 days a year, my last company only gives 12 days a year, im still rendering my 30 days
ReplyDelete@chyng: sana nga 30 days sa pinas ang vl!!!
@gaye: no i dont have enough savings... i just couldnt take it anymore, ill just probably work along the way... im not sure what will happen gaye... looking back... i now my feet always lead me to a nice adventure...
Congratulations on quitting your job. I'm actually going to quit my cubicle job here in the next few weeks so I can concentrate on grad school. My goal is to make sure that I never work in a cubicle or office again for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeletethanks steve... i would probably work in a cubicle again aftera few months but this time, my goal is to transition outside the cubicle... goodluck to all of us who wants to escape the cube...
ReplyDeleteTake the time to breathe. That's what the great escape is for. At least, you didn't do a Steven Slater no?
ReplyDeletewe have 25 days + 1 year so max is 26days vl, we are required to do the 2 weeks leave each year but work is really very exhausting. :(
ReplyDeleteI hope you find whatever it is that will keep you moving or let you stay Flip. I always believe in setting up a business as the key to making me financially stable,I just hope I have enough funds to start it. lol
You may wanna do freelance online jobs for the meantime, you're a good writer, dame online naghahanap ng ghost travel writers.
I hope you find whatever it is that will keep you moving or let you stay. keep the faith Flip!:)
@dennis: thanks dennis for the advice hahahano i didnt tantrums or walked out, im rendering 30 days... probably i got shocked because this is my frist job after i backpacked for 6 months... i dnot know...maybe ive changed in a way...
ReplyDelete@gael: thanks for the encouraging words... i hope i could setup a life that i dont need to escape from...
ReplyDeleteThat's a very lame reason! You're too young? Does age really matter when you are that competent?
ReplyDeleteI wish I could travel alone someday too :) Sometimes, being alone gives one a time to think better right?
Congratulations for quitting your job, not many have the guts to do so :P
Perhaps you can still satisfy your wanderlust by living and working for a corporation in Europe, where some of the countries have government-mandated vacation periods of up to 6 weeks per year, regardless of job seniority. But given the economic conditions, this may not be so for long.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder European backpackers are the most travelled.
@minnie: yeah i know... but latter on i realized that it led me to a better life... i became i traveller because of that... :-)
ReplyDelete@jody: hehehe i agree... in the philippines our vls are just around 15... i think i can satisfy my wanderlust if i become an online entrepreneur instead or a freelancer ;-)
@gaels thanks for the tip... yeah i might try being a freelancer instead... more than the money i want to be location independent ;-)
ReplyDeletei just did what you did. that's cool- a nice escape
ReplyDelete@james: it is... :-)
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason for everything flip, so I'm sure something will come up to help you get over this funk (or an opportunity that will let you travel and earn at the same time!)
ReplyDelete@nina: thanks for the comforting words and i do agree with you... :-) 'hoping for the best :-)
ReplyDelete