A LIFE WELL-LIVED...

MY AMERICAN DREAM Could This Be Just A Pipe Dream?

As a young boy, America has always been the embodiment of everything super. The US Navy is the mightiest navy in the world, the US Army is the mightiest army in the world, and the US Air Force? Which air force else has a match with the B52?, the F4 Phantom?, the Blackbird? Someday, I should be working for a company the likes of Northrop, Lockheed, General Dynamics and others that design and develop the most advanced weapons systems. I was 26 when an opportunity to work in America was, I believe, knocking at my door. A Filipino-American engineer was in Manila looking for computer programmers for Northrop. I submitted my application and had an interview on the spot. I obviously did not impress the interviewer, he thanked me and wished me luck in my job hunt. That same year, I got a job as a Computer Programmer for Saudi Telecom in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It's not America, but it gave me the time and environment to hone my programming skills. I was reading technical materials like crazy and coding in different computer languages like my life depended on it, yes, my life and the future of my family depended on it. As a result, I was recognized by my peers to be a leader of the pack. This further strengthened my resolve to work in America. I tried, two times, to apply for visitor's visa at the US Embassy in Riyadh, but denied on both occasions. With the amount of knowledge I acquired up to this point in time, I was restless. After a little less than six years in the kingdom, I bid my buddies, farewell.