Not a happy ending

ot all stories get to have a happy ending.

Sadly, I didn't get the Indonesia slot for reasons that could have been avoided had our agency gotten the invitation much earlier. But I always believe that if it isn't for you, then it isn't.

I learned the bad news a day after I put up my earlier post. I dealt with it the way I'd deal with a heartbreak- I kept myself busy.

I threw myself into my work so I wouldn't be reminded of what I lost. Good thing I was already in the thick of preparations for a regional convention that our office is hosting before the Indonesia thing came up.

Also, I haven't unpacked my bags. I couldn't bring myself to do it just yet.

Though I didn't get to fly to Indonesia, I sent an email to our news editors in Manila thanking them for recommending me. The thought that they picked me for that program in Indonesia is more than enough compensation for what I lost during my chase after Indonesia.

Vanessa Redgrave's character in the movie Letters to Juliet said: "Life is the messy bits." My chase for the lone slot in Indonesia was really messy. I crossed the ocean twice at the height of a typhoon signal no. 1, lost my wallet and an earring, slept overnight on a couch, and got stranded for three hours at the port (because of Typhoon Ramon).

Corny as this may sound, I would still have gone through all that mess even if I knew what the outcome would be.

I never saw myself as the kind of person who would take those kind of risks. I now have the bragging rights to being the girl who defied a typhoon just to chase a dream.

When life throws you curves, you learn to swerve.