I was blog hopping and saw pictures of New York City. A childhood longing was again triggered. Oh well, it has been my dream to go to the US one day. So many attempts and still I haven't stepped in the land of milk and honey.
Year 1997, I was all set to go on a vacation with daddy. So, I applied for a tourist visa. At 21, they only see one thing in me : TNT! So, my application was rejected. 3 months after that, my daddy died. How I wished that the consul had given me the chance to spend a special vacation with daddy.
Same year, week after my daddy died, I got a call from a headhunter. I was to be interviewed for a possible job in the U.S. Still in mourning, I walked up there and braved the series of technical questions. Few days after, I was in and they asked me to pass necessary papers to process my H1-B visa. Early December, I received my NOA. Once again, woke up early to line up outside the U.S. embassy. This time, I was lucky to receive my working visa.
I could have been in Chicago by January. But...
I was not yet ready. I couldn't leave my family. I decided to delay.
So, just when I was ready, recession begun. The headhunter couldn't give me a job anymore. So I might as well tear my visa from my passport and have it framed.
Was I ever sorry for not going that fateful January 1998?
Heck, no! I made a neat bunch of friends at Amkor (one of the reasons why I didn't want to go), saw cousin Kyle became a toddler and spent more time with tita E. Furthermore, I believed that it's fate. I wouldn't have met Pre and have my daughters if I went there.
Still, I am hoping that someday, I could set foot there. This time hand in hand with Pre and my two daughters. Much more fun if we all see Mickey Mouse in Disneyland (even if there's HK Disneyland, still want to go to LA), see the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, walk along the streets of New York...
Someday....
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