So, the proverbial shit, weeeell it’s been
visiting the ol’ proverbial fan again, oooh yes it has, in a big way, it’s that time again, the six week
period of bliss and happiness since the last shit hitting of the fan has been
dealt with and SHIZAM,
take THAT, happy person, just a little reminder that
I’m living in the real world. I went into the big city yesterday, yeeeah the
pumping metropolis of Port Barton to sort out some bank stuff, book a few flights
around the Philippines, book an open water diving course, weeell that grinded
to a rather swift halt when I opened up my emails aaaand to cut a long story
short, I
no longer have a job for the summer.
Well, that news went down like a led balloon, jeesh, talk
about taking the wind out of someone’s sails (haha, do you see what I
did there, you see that?). I was alone
in the internet place, heart pounding, tears welling up, I just shut my laptop,
looked around, realised there was no one there who would give a crap, went to
the only shop in town, bought their last bottle of Tanduay and headed straight
back to camp on the little boat, and tried to pretend for a while that it
didn’t just happen, I did NOT spend the last few months travelling around the
world, blowing my money thinking that I was going back to my boat job and that this
would be the year for saving, only to find out, I DON’T have a job, yeah that
didn’t happen, no ways. Flipping IDIOT. I got back to camp, tears rolling down
my cheeks, the camp owner looks at me, shakes his head, you SEE, this is why I
don’t do emails and all that technology stuff over there in Barton, just sunsets
and fires none of that crap, grab a beer. I spent the night crying, and
drinking, and generally just feeling hugely sorry for myself, as you do when
you find out you’re unemployed. I had a terrible night, I couldn’t sleep, I
left my tent open and was eaten alive by mosquitoes, I couldn’t find my torch
and I swear there were spiders creeping around. I woke up, stepped outside my
tent and, rustle rustle... THUD. An enormous coconut fell from the tree directly above my head,
and landed right by my foot, the thing hit the sand so hard it completely split
in two. I looked at the coconut, through puffy, post 10 hour crying session
eyes, looked up at the tree, down at the coconut, registered what could have
happened had I stepped out my tent just a few centimetres to the right… HOLY
SHIT, I could have died, that would have killed me, and I would have spent the
last few hours of my life CRYING, what a loser, NO. I looked out at the sea,
the sun was rising and the sea was all lit up, it was beautiful and I suddenly realised
how ridiculous I was being, I mean yeah, it completely sucks, it’s horrible,
but it’s really not the end of the world, and (Polly Anna moment) maybe it
happened because there’s something better for me, something different and
exciting, who knows. YES… the new me. The
old me would have cried for at least a few more days but the new me is having NONE
of that, no siree. “Aaaalways LOOK on the BRIGHT siiide of life” okay so maybe
it’s too early for the happy song but at least
I’m not listening to James Blunt and hosting my annual pity party, for one. Any ideas as to what I can do with my life,
something exciting and adventurous, something that can bring in a little bit of
cash would be muchos appreciated, you know my email address, or if you don’t,
you can creep it on my contacts page. Ummm, Mum and Dad, if you’re reading this
and I’ve not yet spoken to you about all this, don't be angry, it wasn’t my
fault. I’ll try phone you soon/
Needless to say, I will NOT be cruising around the Philippines blowing
what’s left of her savings, there will be no Bohol, no tarsiers (sad face), no
Sagada, no rice terraces, no diving certificate or firefly kayaking tours
(waaaaaah). Hmm, that all sounds a bit bleak, but really, there could be worse
places to have to spend five weeks (yeah I can’t change my flight), I mean,
chilling on a beautiful quiet beach, snorkelling, kayaking, eating incredible
food, tanning, reading, meeting new people every few days...yeah I’m pretty
sure it could be a LOT worse. I’m just going to stick to Palawan, there’s so
much to do on this island, I might take one of the tents and go by Bangka up to
El Nido and camp out on one of the islands, apparently El Nido is just teeming
with tourists but it’s the islands and the limestone cliffs that you really go
there for, and maybe I’ll head to the other side of the island, or down south,
you know, the places Lonely Planet leaves out. I guess there’s something to be
said for completely exploring just one area, not racing around to all the
tourist traps. The only thing I’m REALLY sad about is not getting to see the
tarsiers in Bohol, but even that’s okay, because I know for sure that I will
come back to the Philippines again, it’s one of my favourite places in the
whole world so far, and I have a daily itinerary all planned out already, I’ll
just save it on my laptop and pull it out when I’m next in the Philippines. I
mean, I could still do the whole trip, but really, that would be hugely
irresponsible because who knows how long it’ll take to get another job,
hopefully not too long, I learnt the hard way that boredom is absolutely THE
worst thing in the world for me, so I’m all over this making plans business,
please, suggestions/job offers/bucketfuls of cash are all welcome.
Okay for real, enough. Bye. I’m serious about
emailing me ideas
Help a girl out why don’cha
*UPDATE: since writing this post (a few days ago in camp), I received and email from the captain saying that the owners have reconsidered and are graciously giving me a one month trial period in which I have to deliver "finer cuisine" and work on my plating techniques and organisational skills.
Haha, get a load of those okes. Now I really don't know what to do, talk about putting a spanner in the works. What to do, what to dooo.
