The office is busy prepping for Men's Fashion Week in Singapore on April 1st.. I'm not supposed to join but I jokingly volunteered and reminded my advantage as I am also a stylist and very familiar on how backstage works. My boss quickly agreed and asked for my passport number so he can forward my personal deets to Singapore, where our tickets are coming from. We are flying in an all expense paid trip! I was excited and about to scream for joy until I realized, I don't have a passport yet. I told him, I'll find a way, and tried calling everyone in my phonebook who I thought could help in this very, very, urgent matter. The fastest way to process passports in our country usually takes 3 weeks. That is if you get an appointment for appearance the next week. I went to our epassport site and found out that the soonest available schedule for interview is on May 18th. My heart broke. But there's nothing a bottle of beer and a shot of vodka couldn't heal. When I got to the office this afternoon, I told my boss that I am not going. I could help organize the packing and write them a schedule so they would cover everything there even without my presence. He shook his head.
I've been told so many times by my friend Tina to "get a passport even if you don't need it!" She would say this over and over. I wanted to get one. I really do. At the back of my head, however, is a voice telling me that if I am meant to fly, passport wouldn't be a problem. It's not that I could get one right away, it's just that if I decided to fly out of the country, I would probably have enough time to fix my passport before I could save enough money to buy me a ticket. And God knows how much I've been wanting to go to, at least, Hong Kong or Thailand. Money and time has always been an issue with me. The two never came together at the same time so no trip plans were ever pushed through. As I was procrastinating my design work in the office and daydreaming of the things I would do in Singapore if I ever pushed through, I realized a proverb I read from somewhere, that: "you should always prepare for your dream so when the opportunity comes, you're ready to grab it." So much for procrcastination. I left the office early and bought a Big Mac on my way home. And besides, if I could ever find someone who can fix my passport half of the usual processing time, I don't have ALL the requirements. My wallet was stolen two months ago with all my digitized ID's in it. I have my Birth Certificate alright but the NBI Clearance can take up to three weeks.
When i got home at 9 pm, I got a call from my boss telling me to come early to the office tomorrow and bring with me my Birth Certificate and some 2x2 photos. I GOT A FUCKIN APPEARANCE! My boss really moved heaven and earth for this! I may not have asked for a great salary deal but this is epic! I am not rejoicing yet, my fingers and toes are still crossed.
