A LIFE WELL-LIVED...

GOING TO FRONTIERS WHERE FEW HAVE GONE BEFORE Going To Frontiers Where Few Have Gone Before

The Php 11,000.00 severance pay I got from ACMDC, though small even at that time, and with three years Computer Programming experience, I shifted to high gear. Back in Cebu City where we were renting a house, I bought every Sunday issue of the daily newspaper - Manila Bulletin. It was the Classified Ads pages that I was interested in. SAUDI ARABIA The desert of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), in the 1980s, was the lushiest in the Middle East. The Philippine Government's Professional Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), which was created to oversee manpower export was mainly based in Manila. Having cousins living there was an immense advantage. Though Saudi Arabia was in the crosshairs, I didn't lose sight of other sites either. ZAMBIA A copper mine in Zambia, in southern Africa, one of the largest copper mines in the world, was in Manila looking for Computer Programmers. Wasting no time, I submitted my CV and after a week wait, I was called for an interview. Having no overseas experience, that's what they said, was the ground my application was denied. NORTHROP Northrop, later merged with Grumman forming Northrop Grumman was and still is a leading US Defense Department contractor. Saudi Arabia, with its immense oil wealth, was fast building its defense infrastructure and its military hardware comes mainly from its ally, the United States of America. Manila Hilton Hotel was the venue for the interview. I didn't wait long. The receptionist lead me to the interview room. The Interviewer, a middle-aged gentleman, introduced himself, that's when I thought this would be my lucky day. He is an alumnus of the Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT), where I started my Electrical Engineering. He spoke about his days at CIT equally long as he explains to me the Company's expectations. His advice to me was to acquired more Computer Programming experience.