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| A peek on inside Career shipping office |
Was 10 am
when I received a call from my home and at first I thought it was my sister
just calling back again and that the she forgot something. When I picked it up
it wasn’t my sister but it was some staff at career shipping office informing
me on why the hell I haven't filled out the form yet for my U.S. Visa
application and ordered me to report back in the office right away.
Well they
don’t really have to rush me on that part since I'm going to the Shipping
office anyway. During my walk to the jeep station, I received another SMS from
career informing me to attend this so called "MST" (another jargon
term in the office) training seminar on Wednesday . Ok duly noted and it’s a
must that I attend "MST" since I accidentally screwed up on the
"Anti-Piracy" seminar and overslept on my house.
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| At the visa counter booth |
One golden
rule I learned in career shipping is whenever it comes to reporting is NEVER COME IN EARLY, This has happened
to me quite a number of times and I ended up waiting for more than 8 hours in
career. So its best I spare myself from all that hardship and result to
tactics. In career it wont make any difference if you came in as early as 8am
or later than 2pm, the call time will still be the same (somewhere in between
4pm to 5pm).
Anyway
going back , At 2pm I immediately proceeded to the Visa counter on career and
asked for the form. "Gilda"
told me to fill out this form and afterwards pass it back to her with a 1 piece
1x1 ID picture, after a few minutes I passed the form back to her and the next
was that she handed me out a piece of paper and told me to write my employment
history there. After completing the said form , "Gilda" told me that
id be receiving a notice coming from career shipping and be reporting back for
further instructions since U.S. Visa application is by schedule and by personal
appearance at the embassy. For extra information the Application form includes
some questions like , have you ever visited (or entered) the USA and what dates
are they. And countries that you have entered within the past 5 years. Some
other questions included have you ever been denied in applying for a US visa
before and what was the reason.
Finished
the agenda at 3pm and since there was more than enough time, I stopped by to my
second objective in the medical counter and ask for the bank referral form that
they will issue. Unfortunately
"Michelle" said that the bank referral forms aren't ready yet and I
had to come back some other time, I replied that it wont be a problem and I'm
not in a hurry to get it. Finished two objectives on a about an hour and a half
and it isn't bad at all compared to waiting the whole day for nothing.
Now here's
the big problem ,I took a second look on my wallet and found out that the cash
I had is quite less than what I thought and I'd be short on cash on further
visits to career. To conserve the remaining money, I decided to walk northward
from Evangelista, Makati all the way to Cubao Aurora then head eastward to
Marikina. For short walk my way home.I was ill prepared to walk but
nevertheless I did accomplish it, Just had to keep in mind that I need at least
2 liters of water at my backpack to prevent dehydration since heat temperature
in Metro Manila range somewhere from 36 degrees to 39 Degrees Celsius . Good
thing thought that I had also a spare t-shirt on my back pack.
By the time
I reached the first part of my walk , (In Cubao, Farmers market) my shirt was
soaking wet with sweat all the way to the upper part of my denim pants. I
changed clothes just to keep myself dry and got some clean water in the
drinking fountain and filled up my water container, afterwards resumed my walk
eastward going to marikina. Walking my way there wasn’t a big problem at all
and it was already dark, So I don’t have to worry about heat and dehydration.
Reached my house after an hour and a half , took a rest for 15 to 30 minutes
then took a bath to wash off all the dirt and dust that accumulated on my body
and finally took a nap to rest.
One thing I
should bear in mind whenever Incase I would be on the long distance walk, is
that I should have at least 3 spare t-shirts and 2 liters of water against
dehydration and heat, Plus it's ok to have a spare underwear and anti-oxidant
meds just incase. But having only a T-shirt and a liter of water is enough for
the trek.
Following
day I spent recuperating from fatigue and heat stress, Thought I do admit that
I don’t have the same endurance as I have back when I was 16 years old, Still I
was able to finish the long tedious walk and age hasn't slowed me down a bit.
Walking long distances isn't exactly new to me and I had been walking the far
reaches of the city since I was 16 years old. The main problem I faced was not
the distance walk itself but the heat and dehydration.
The next
day, I made preparation incase that if ever I ran short of money and decided to
make a trek again , I’d be fully prepared. I had with me on my back pack 3
spare t-shirt , 2 full liters of water and of course a compass and a road map
so I wont get lost or at least look for a shorter route. I also drank
anti-oxidants and a Centrum tablet to reduce heat exhausting and give me an
extra energy boost if incase I would walk.
At around
2pm I checked again if I still have enough coins to avoid trekking again from
Makati to Marikina , Fortunately I had enough coins to spare me on the long
trek and was enough for a bus ride to Cubao. Walking from Cubao to marikina is
the least of my worries.
Anyway
after the said seminar I reported back to Captain Ledesma and informing him
about my progress , he said everything is going fine and I could attend the
upcoming "anti-piracy" seminar again on this Friday. He added also
that I would report back by Monday and see if he could squeeze in another
seminar for me and that for the moment my schedule is somewhat pinned down by
deadlines. Afterwards I took in a bus headed for cubao
In cubao
area walking my walk in the direction to Marikina was not a problem at all.
