Have you ever experienced being so damn broke? Like really nothing, not even a single cent in your pocket?
I have. I clearly remember that day in 1996. I just turned 19. My dad lost his business 4 years earlier. We had a heart to heart talk. The first time my dad cried. He can no longer pay for my college tuition. (My European friends might not be able to relate to this, but my Pinoy friends can) Thats when I decided to get a job. I got to work for a Chinese couple who owns a cellular phone store, where else, China Town. The infamous Ongpin St. (And yes, in 1996, the first GSM in the Philippines was the Nokia 2110i) I was a sales clerk, but now a days, they call it Sales Associate. I was earning a measley Php 4,700.00 (€68.00) per month. As soon as I receive my salary, I'll give it to my mom so she can buy some groceries. And I would need about Php35.00 everyday to get to work. One jeepney from home to Alabang-Zapote road (P2.50), and a bus (Taz trans) all the way to China Town for P15.00. And the same trip back home if I am early enough to catch the last jeepney ride home. If not, I have to take the tricycle-special trip for P12.00. And that doesn't include my lunch money. There were times that I will pretend to be asleep on the bus, just so the conductor won't ask me for my fare. Or, for me to save the money for my lunch, or for my trip back home, I will take 2 jeepneys, the open air type, in sweltering 35 degs. Manila heat, inhaling all the possible monoxides emitted by millions of smoke belching automobiles speeding the long pathways of Taft Avenue, instead of 1 airconditioned bus.(inhale, thats a long one) Sometimes, a colleague will invite me for lunch because he's friends with some Chinese eatery owners, and we'll get free meals. And our Chinese bosses buys us snacks every afternoon. (Which consists of 4 different kinds of noodles, dumplings and jellies). And this routine, went on for about 8 months.
I know a lot of people who have experienced the same. Some are experiencing it now. And I know its a tough lesson to learn. For me, that experience brought me to a lot of places. Taught me a lot about life, work, and family. But you just have to be tougher than life to survive the rat race so to speak. I have worked in different industries and I tried to take in every skill and knowledge I can absorb. Cell phone store, Shoe store, themed restaurants, bars, Karaoke places, pubs, Insurance brokerage, call center and the latest, software testing!
But I believe that a lot of things happen for a reason. I will not be the person I am now, if not for these impoverish and humbling experiences. I learned. And I am tougher. This I would like Ria to learn.
I still haven't mastered the art of handling money, but I now know how to make them last. (Until the next salary day, ehehehe)
