a friend has just left to seek her new home

i think this is the first time am posting something about a friend and her journey. i met mitz about 5 years ago when i joined the filipino ladies group (singapore) or FLAG. i was told she came from aklan, that province where my favorite beach island is located. for the first three years, we were what you call, org mates type of friends. the ones you meet and talk with when there is a meeting or an event or an outing organized by our group.

then two years ago, we started to become close. got to know each other better and then she decided to go off to the US to seek a job in New York, which is one of her childhood dreams. she stayed there for more than 6 months and then when she realized it was tough not to find a job there, she came back here and promptly got a job with another bank. but she knew she may not stay here for long. she found this temporary place to stay and did not stop pursuing her dream to go to the US. and then one day, she got the email saying she is being considered for a position in a bank in Bermudas. well, maybe she needs to go somewhere else first before she can find work in the US.

after some serious thinking, she decided she will go there and work for three years and see where it leads her.

so again, i found myself sending her off at changi airport. this time around, i felt more sad as we have become much much closer since she came back from the US. in fact, she was our constant weekend guest at home. and she spent the last two days of her stay in singapore with us at our oxley rise apartment.

i also had a chance to work with her on her last dream project- photo contest and the exhibit- LOVE IS IN THE AIR. she was fun to work with especially as she is one person with tons of energy. and i admire her for her commitment to FLAG and her relentless pursuit of her dreams-both in terms of her own career and her other interests.

but we also have our differences. whereas moi is one who would fight with anyone whom i feel like has been unfair with me, she thinks i should just forgive and let go. though in some areas, she is such a fighter herself. i guess, we disagree on which battles to fight.

well today she sms'ed me to say she has landed safely in Bermudas. i know she is where she should be at this point and time. i know as well she deserves to get that job and am sure she will make us proud again of her achievement.

so to you my dear dear friend mitz, best of luck! i know we will meet again soon....most likely there...as i have never been to that part of the world. i will treasure the moments we have shared and the time we have spent together.

friends are there for us to meet, get to know, love and let go at some point...you are one of my good and close friends...i think you are the fifth i had to send off within the last two years of my stay here in singapore....

and i thought i was getting better at sending off friends only to realize i will never be good at this. i guess am one of those people who will always find it difficult to send off someone close to me. i should as i live in this part of the world where people do not stay for long, they either move on to some place where there are better opportunities or they decide to go back home where they come from.

maybe i will as well at some point....either go somewhere else to stay or go back to my beloved home country....

but perhaps not too soon...

so to you Mitz, a big thank you and a big hug for being part of my journey here in singapore....and see you again my dear friend!



Mitz left Singapore for Bermudas last 8 July 2006 at around 3 am, which meant that we were at Changi airport from midnight to 2 am.