So anyways, I moved to Bangkok.

After manning my post in AR group for about 5 months, I had found myself saying yes to a job offer from KPMG Thailand. My close friends know that notwithstanding the appreciation I have for my recent promotion, I still have been wanting to get myself back to working in information systems audit. When the opportunity presented itself, who was I to turn a blind eye?

To give you a brief background of my work history, I worked in KPMG Manila then moved to Shell to be part of Controlling team. A year after, I got promoted as Tech Lead for Cash Posting and in less than half a year, I'm back in good ol' KPMG. Only this time it's KPMG in a kingdom far far away. Yes, Thailand is a kingdom. I think. They have a king eh.

What followed from my tender of resignation was a whirlwind of work hand over, last minute plane ticket reservations and goodbyes from friends. I was glad to have dinner together with my house mates, I will miss this crazy bunch of people. We may get on each other's nerves at times (especially on housekeeping matters) but we enjoyed each other's differences. At least I did. Haha.

On my last day of work my colleagues from AR team gave me a dress shirt for memento. A very utilitarian gesture I must add, as I planned on wearing the shirt on my first day of work. My friends from MRD Billing, the group I was part of before I moved to AR, also gave me a send-off gift consisting of a number of really nice neck ties. I mean a lot of neckties. Again, I was ecstatic to receive them.

I half expected some other group to surprise me with a pair of trousers but my luck had run out.

Until my last day in Shell I didn't really feel like my stint at the company was coming to an end. Maybe it's because I was so busy with the work hand over I hadn't had time to pause and take it all in. For anyone resigning from their work, I recommend at least 2 weeks of "realization" time, on top of the 30 day notice. If KPMG had not asked for my presence too soon, I would definitely spend more time saying goodbye with some friends, maybe even go out of town.

Speaking of out of town, I had a chance to squeeze in a short visit to my family in Zamboanga to my crazy pre-Bangkok itinerary. Grand total number of days spent in Zamboanga: three. Madness, right? I almost even missed this trip. On the day of my flight, which was about 5AM, it rained really hard and the streets flooded. (Dammit, do something about it, Binay!) I was trapped in our apartment and the plane was leaving shortly. I called to reschedule but the airline said there were no more seats available in the next trip. I remember yelping like a dog. Ultimately, I had to go to the airport in the afternoon as a chance passenger, and the only seat available was Business class. Spending a lot for a plane ticket doesn't really sit well with me, but what choice did I have? It was my first time to travel business class. Yes, I'm cheap like that. But you know what, business class rocks- I had my own TV screen, a spacious leg room, a nice meal, and some considerable privacy. If I masturbated in the plane no one would notice.

Except maybe my seat mate.