525,800 minutes in Malaysia

five hundred twenty five
thousand six hundred minutes
five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear
five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
how do you
measure? measure a year

in daylights,
in sunsets,
in midnights,
in cups of coffee,
in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife

in five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
how do you
measure a year in a life?

Right now it's almost 5pm in my watch. 525,800 minutes ago my plane was taxiing out of the NAIA runway and I was looking at my final glimpse to the place I called home for 30 year.

That's right. It's been a year since I moved to Malaysia. Who would have thought that I would survive? hahaha. I still remember the night before I left. I played badminton one last time at GBC and Luis and I had our last traditional "drive home." It was semi emotional in a way for me. And part of me didn't want to leave at all. I even held off packing my luggage until 4am of my departure date. Talk about delaying tactics. I cried when November 28 finally came. I remembered crying to mom and asking her that should I want to would it be okay for me to go back. I didnt want to disappoint her but at the same time moving away and leaving everything that mattered most to me was just too damn hard.

Ves took me took me to the airport with fr ben. We drove through jollibee to have my last meal on my beloved Kia sportage. Hurriedly I rushed to the insides of NAIA terminal 1 so that I wouldnt have to cry infront of my sister.

Now here I am a year later. When I left I made a bargain with myself and told myself just see it for a year and then decide afterwards. If I survive one year I will be okay.

I did. And I think I more than survived. And now looking back, I know I would have made the biggest mistake if I didnt at least try this adventure. Sure, there were downsides and times when I just want to completely pack my bags and go home for good. But there were lots of good times too. I may have gotten sick a lot but I also learned a lot. I learned more about myself than perhaps any other time in my life. And when I grow old I would always look at this life changing event as perhaps one of the best adventures of my life.

I left Manila to find myself again after everything I went through. Now 525,800 minutes later, I've befriended myself again and not only that I've learned to remember him in better times. I've learned to cherish the good and wash away the bad. And I've learned to forgive.

So what will happen now? I really don't know. I still have two more years in my contract. We'll see how that one goes.

For now, life goes on...


five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
five hundred twenty five thousand journeys to plan
five hundred twenty five thousand suix hundred minutes
how do you measure a life of a woman or a man

in truths that she learned
or in times that she cried
in bridges he burned
or the way that she died

its time now to sing out though
the story never ends
let's celebrate remember a year in a life of friends