0201A: Living the Dream

(When in doubt I use images from Death to the Stock Photo)

One of the great things about local holidays is how Metro Manila traffic all but disappears. Not even weekends are as great as weekday holidays when it comes to traffic reduction for some reason. I guess it's because a lot of these incidental holidays take place randomly during the work week and don't often accommodate the possibility of big weekend plans. Therefore, most folks just end up staying home during these one-shot holidays. I mean seriously, today is Bataan Day, otherwise known as the Day of Valor. It is different from National Heroes Day or the holiday dedicated to our national hero, Jose Rizal. And so people just...stay home.

But I still had work last night and I still have work later tonight, which is part of my whole call center deal. And what was most amusing about today was the conversation with my Uber driver on the way home from work. Normally I take the time to message my Uber driver once I get a confirmed booking, but this was one of the rare times that I was called first. The guy spoke really well and I was impressed and we agreed upon where to meet and that was that.

It turned out that he was a former BPO worker as well and had already reached the level of being a supervisor when he finally quit the industry. After a food business of sorts didn't work out. he eventually found his way as an Uber driver since (1) he figures he gets a new car of out the deal and (2) he honestly enjoys driving. He told me about how a number of passengers have offered him a job, typically to go work in one call center or another. But he refuses since he's still honesty enjoying driving people around despite the horrors of Metro Manila traffic.

I didn't even read my book during the drive - the conversation was worth it. Here was a guy who had left the industry and was pretty much living his dream for now. He figures that he'd have made enough to cover the cost of the car in three years, after which he can sell it and get something better. It's a really simple plan, but since it makes him happy then it's valuable and certainly "worth it" from his perspective. And it's really nice to encounter someone like that - who honestly appreciates where is now and is happy with what he's doing to earn a living. That kind of a break in life is a gift.

May we all be so lucky in time.