random thoughts

Funny … many people are asking me if i was really the one in the parachute in the picture!

Yes, it’s me … but it’s not so hard as you guys might think! I had the most wonderful teambuilding idea of going parasailing with my teammates when i visited them in Malaysia last month! I know it’s not a team sport but i guess the shared experience is something that will bind us together! So we went … all four of us! I’m really not your average sporty kind of girl … and this is the first time ever that i will be doing this … was scared shitless … (understatement!). I was the first one to go (i guess the guys with me were more scared than i am, huh! ;=) peace Ed and Jeed! ;=) hahahaha … (now you know who they were!) — the guy strapped me up with the life vest and the parachute and was giving me instructions … never have i paid really close attention to instructions before … yeah … it was hard paying attention to what he was saying while smiling for pictures! ;=)  

it was pretty basic … three things i need to remember:

(1) the chute (and I!) was tied to a speedboat … once the speedboat goes and i see the rope taut, i need to start running … (just then i was thinking what happens if i can’t run fast enough and i will be dragged by the speed boat …. not a pretty sight! … the guy kept telling me that it won’t happen since the wind will pick up and the chute will take off … hmmm … what if there’s no wind?! ;=) During take off, i need to hold on to one of the ropes there … not sure why … but i didn’t really think to ask! I guess you will follow even the dumbest of instructions if you’re going 100-150ft up and the only thing holding you to the ground is that rope!

(2) once airborne … I can let go of the rope … and maybe do one of those ‘i’m the king of the world’ pose reminiscent of leonardo dicaprio in titanic! (corny!) ahhh … letting go of the rope and doing the ‘i’m the king of the world’ is optional … i think! ;=) … so i held on to the rope … the whole time! It was exhilirating being up there … was there for about 2-3mins … it was really peaceful with just the wind in my face … would have been more peaceful if i wasn’t worrying at the back of my mind on what i need to do exactly for the landing! ;=)

(3) last thing i need to know is to start pulling one of the ropes on my left when they motion for me to pull and let go at about the right time for a graceful landing! I asked the guy how i will know when to start pulling and he told me that they will give me a hand signal! hmmm … i have a 100/150 vision and nearsighted … even if you have the biggest hand there is and give me the signal … i won’t see it! ;=) i kept on squinting to see if there’s a hand signal somewhere … and i really can’t see it! just then … when i see the speedboat turning and logic tells me that i’m about to land … i started pulling … way too early and way before they started shouting at me! (they should have told me they will be shouting!!! ;=) so i pulled … hard … and i started descending … about 30m away from where i was supposed to land. (er … they were locked and loaded to start taking pictures! ;=) hehe … (didn’t have a lot of pictures for my landing … which i guess was a good thing … since i landed so ungracefully! ;=)

There … no mystery to it … my first parasailing experience … not so scary as i thought … but it still made me wonder what it was recently that made me bolder than usual … i guess it’s that realization that i’m 30 and haven’t really experienced a lot that life has to offer yet! … i’ve been living safely for the longest time … living in the confines of a familiar and certain world … i guess it’s time to take more risks … go out of my comfort zone … it’s time to start leaving the ground and trust a speedboat, a rope, a life vest and a parachute to take me to places i have never been to and experiences i have never dared before! hmmm … hopefully i will always have the common sense to know when to start pulling and when to let go … and hopefully there will always be a rope to keep me grounded … and hopefully there will always be wind … and hopefully when i land … there will always be pictures! ;=)

Updated my resume today! Been trying to do it … for the longest time but am just too lazy! (and too happy with my current job to do it! ;=) hehe Not sure what prompted me to finally do it … hmmm, maybe it’s that melancholic sunday feeling again! it’s that doing-everything-by-myself feeling again! i think i should explain myself … (like what is the relationship of updating resume with being alone! ;=) i’ve been very open in saying (even volunteering information to people who doesn’t even ask me!) that i plan to resign next year! yeah … april 1, 2007 to be exact! (of course, it’s just lip service until i finally hand in my resignation letter … ;=) hmmm, good thing my bosses do not have friendster accounts and can’t read my blogs! … but on second thought … maybe it’s better if they have an account so they’ll see this and give me a counter-offer! ;=) hehe

Why do I want to resign? It’s not that I don’t like my job … actually I do! I love it so much that I never really thought of doing anything else than be a Product Engineer (hmmm, that doesn’t sound sarcastic, right?). Honestly, I love my job! (hehe … do I sound convincing and convicted now?) ;=) I love being a PE … and moreso now that I am a PE group leader! I don’t know how to explain it … I love the power that comes with the job! I love it that we’re in the middle of everything … that we call the shots (hmmm, to some extent … Intel Philippines is still a mfg firm … hmmm, that part sucks BTW!) So why do I want to resign? (hehe … still haven’t answered that question, huh!) … I feel that it’s time to move on and have a life for once! It’s time to try different things and have a change in environment … it’s time to have a personal life … (hmmm, looked for him in Intel and he’s not there … and not just Intel Philippines … looked in US (California, Oregon, Arizona), in Malaysia, Costa Rica, Israel … not there! ;=) haha (hmmm, haven’t tried China, India and Ireland!) ;=) hahaha Seriously, that special someone is just part of it … (like 99% part of it ;=) haha … No, really … it’s personal life in general! I think 10 years is a long time … and I really feel that I should be doing something else with my life! Not yet sure though what that is … I guess I still have 264 days to figure it out! (haha … I actually counted! … should I do a countdown now?! ;=)