Yesterday was my Dad’s birthday. Like in previous years, I’ve missed his birthday bash again this year, just like I missed Mom’s birthday bash last month. Living in another country does have its downside.
In the past, I just sent them money and I let them buy themselves their own gifts. This year, Raquel and I thought that maybe it would be nice to send them actual gifts for a change. Yes, something that is handpicked by us and bought in Australia.
Anyway, since I couldn’t physically be home for the party, I just called in and greeted him over his mobile. After talking to Dad, I went into a sort of melancholic mood. I remembered how big an influence he was in my life.
I don’t smoke nor drink alcohol because my Dad didn’t. Even when he was with his friends, a lot of them would be smoking and drinking while he would just drink one can of beer (two cans at most). I’m into drawing and comics and animation because he bought comics, watched cartoons with us and, if I recall correctly, he used to draw, too.
I learned different sports such as badminton, bowling, tennis and darts because he was into them. I took up Electronics and Communications Engineering in college because he had exposed me to a lot of electronics when I was growing up. I’m into computers and was programming at a young age because he gave me computers back in the 80’s. I’m into a lot of different types of music because so was he.
Simply put, I’m into a lot of things because he was into a lot of things and I’m not into some things because he wasn’t into those same things.
Apart from things I do and don’t do, Dad also influenced the way I mapped out my life. When I was still in Elementary school, I realised that we lived a comfortable life. We get to visit different countries during Summer break and I usually get what I asked from Dad. I even get what I didn’t ask from Dad and it was usually something really interesting (read as geeky). I understood that our comfortable life was all because Dad was working abroad. So, at a young age, I’ve planned out that I was going to be just like Dad. When I grow up, I, too, will work abroad like he did so that my family will live a comfortable life like I did when I was young.
I remembered that one time he came home from Brunei for a vacation and he took me on a commute to Binondo (part of China Town in Manila). I can’t recall the reason for the trip but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that on the trip he related to me about how difficult his life was when he was younger. Being an orphan, he didn’t easily get what he wanted while he was growing up unlike my brother and me. He had to work hard for everything he had ever gained.
He also told me that before he got accepted for a job in Saudi Arabia, he went to the church along Santa Cruz in Manila to ask God to help him get this job. And wouldn’t you know it? He did. That was the start of our comfortable life right there. Hard work and a little faith. That’s what’s needed, I said to myself.
Still on that trip, he told me that we had money saved up in the bank for our future. That meant that even if we didn’t work hard to be successful in life, we would still have money. He then posed a challenge for me which I took to heart. He asked me if I could make more money than he did at the age of 40? I told him, I would. And that challenge became a driving force for me to succeed. It was a goal I focused on.
On the way home, he also gave me an advice that I never forgot and helped me get to where I am now: grab an opportunity when it comes, for it may never come again. And that’s just what I did.
I don’t claim to be as financially successful as my Dad was at the time. All I’m saying is that I probably wouldn’t be the least bit successful if it wasn’t for my Dad.
Thanks, Dad. Thank you for all the lessons you’ve taught me in words and in deed.
