Jetlagged

Here I am at 5:00am composing this entry. I don’t know when sleep will get a hold of me but in any case, might as well blog.

To say that I had a very unfortunate incident, would be an understatment – I lost a TON of cash at the airport before I left the country a couple of days ago. I don’t really intend to expound on it as it really depresses me to think about it, so I’ll leave it at that. Suffice to say that it was enough to “ruin” the tour spirit in me. But God has some weird way of showing you the brighter side of things.

Initially, I was really stoked on going on tour, then plummeted right down to 0-motivation that fateful day, now I guess I’m back up to about 80%. I’m not so sure that will get any higher – while I do enjoy the whole BP-tour side of everything, having that amount stolen is not something I could just brush off. But nonetheless, I’m not a defeatist, and I do acknowledge the “lucky” breaks we’ve had after the incident.

First, we were upgraded to business class at the last minute. And I just have to say that JAL has one of the best meals (or maybe I’m partial to Japanese food when it comes to flights – raw stuff seems to be very compatible with the “cold, high-altitude environment”). Still, the though of my loss was still unnerving.

Second was that a lousy in-flight movie (Weather Man) actually imparted a “line” which I took to heart – and which made me see how “lucky” I still am. That material stuff aside, I still have someone who loves me to come home to, and who’ll be there to share my grief (should I let it get the better of me)

Third was Mom text-ing, agreeing to loan me the lost cash during one of our stops – which granted me the consolation of still getting what I intended to get from the US (the guitar and stuff). The only issue now would be I’d be in debt when I get back. After saving up for that guitar from the rackets of the past month, I thought I would be able to take it easy when I got back and enjoy the fruits of my labor – obviously the Lord had/s other plans.

Lastly (and which really was the clincher), was in the form of distressing news we received from a member of the group. That member’s cousin, who in turn, was a member of another choral group, got into a serious car accident. I’m not certain if I’m at liberty to divulge the details, but suffice to say [from what I heard] it was very serious ¹ as in life-changing serious, I’d take losing money over that accident any day… and twice on sundays. Suddenly, my problem seemed so small when I put myself in the other person’s shoes.

Again, God surely has some weird way of showing you the brighter side of things.

When I think about my unfortunate incident. I can’t help but feel bad because I worked my ass off the past month to generate those funds… only for them to be stolen at the last minute. So now, it’s like I’m getting my merchandise at twice the price. I still have some money coming in from another racket when I get back, which was supposed to be for savings… now I’d have to use that and [find a way] to generate more to pay off the debt.

After hearing about that accident though, paying double doesn’t seem like too much of a hassle – at least the bottom-line for me was: I still got the stuff I wanted.

What really concerns me now is if I’ll have enough “projects” when I get home to pay that debt. The last month really was a blessing as the projects were literally pouring in. I even remember the last one was approved about three days before leaving, the down-payment of which I was able to bring with me (until it was stolen). I literally wasn’t counting on getting a T5 at all by the time of the tour, but again… the Lord giveth.

And of course now, the Lord taketh away – which is why I can’t really be angry. Besides, the Lord once again giveth in the form of Mom and the loving support of my girlfriend. I think if I just keep my head straight, I’ll get through this. He’ll help me get through this. So I’ll do my best so I won’t have any regrets.

Thus, once again I’m appealing to every reader – if you know anyone who needs someone to do a project, web-development, multimedia, etc. Anything you know that’s right up my alley, don’t hesitate to refer them to me. I’d really appreciate it 🙂

And of course I’d like to ask everyone to pray for Nicky Reyes (not sure about the surname), member of Hangad and ACS – who was the victim of that accident I was talking about. May the Lord grant him a full recovery.