The Flight of the Rocketman

I realize now that the reality of things is not something you convey to people but something you make. It is this that gives birth to meaning. -- A Window, Haruki Murakami

I'm back from Shanghai. Sometimes, I still can't believe I've left and that I was there. And I can't believe that I left it when I did. I've been to Rome and Florence and Hong Kong but those places always opened up a sense of wonder and inspires me to be rich so that I can travel.

But I'm not rich and I was able to travel. I guess, it means, I just have to work hard at what I love to do and everything else follows suit afterwards. I finally realized that I'm good at what I do and that I learn pretty quickly. I was writer/ production manager/ boom mic operator/ personal assistant/ production assistant and whatever else that was needed for the production and I did the jobs pretty well. I was fast on my feet and thought of actual solutions. I'm proud of myself and what I can do and what I was able to accomplish there in Shanghai.

All of a sudden, the world is so much more open to me now. I don't have to live here in Manila. I can still be a Filipino, still be proud to be a Filipino but not necessarily live in the Philippines. Shanghai is a gorgeous, gorgeous city. It's something I can really become a part of. But then, there's also New York and then Rome, or London or Singapore or even Thailand. All these places and so much more. And I can do so many different things... I can teach, I can write, I can manage, I can work in PR, I can work in advertising. I can learn. I can be whatever I want to be and where I want to be. It just doesn't have to be here.

I'm still in a daze, tired beyond belief with my body ready to give up on me. I'll probably be more coherent (and more restrained) tomorrow after I get some rest. But I will have to say, I got to see Paul Oakenfold spin in Shanghai, Parc 97, a cool club there. He really is one of the best DJs... Amazing...!