I owe the opportunity of landing another job to my Bebe, who recommended me to one of the bosses in the new company where he worked and who was looking for a really capable assistant. I therefore got interviewed and hired on the spot, with just a bit of negotiating on my new compensation and benefits package. [By this time, I had gotten over my heartbreak over my long distance relationship and had hooked up with my Bebe, seemingly on the rebound. He he. But not quite really.]
Anyhow, when I went back to Manila, I was already armed with a new visa from this new employer, and promptly went through the same indignities and difficulties [tests, queueing up, etc.] that prospective OFWs had to go through to get deployed in the Middle East. Fortunately, the recruitment agency this time did not solicit any recruitment fees which were paid for by the new employer. Ditto with all other expenses incurred to process deployment - these were promptly re-imbursed when I started work at the new company.
I was the right place at the right time. The new company was booming; it had just won the biggest telecom contract ever outside of North America. It needed a lot of people to work for it. At its peak in the late 90's and early 2000's, manpower totalled more than 4,000 employees from more than 40 countries. We were paid well and we prided ourselves in being on top of the market, compensation-and-benefits wise. Indeed, the company did not treat us like we were the usual overseas workers; we had access to benefits given to so-called regular employees.
This spelled the many material differences in my life.
Becoming financially more independent allowed me to travel, for one, and allowed me to see the world outside of the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. I also started dreaming of having my own house [which eventually became reality in 2006]. I started to acquire buy many things for myself. Most importantly, I was able to help my family in so many ways.
Indeed, life - materially speaking - was never the same again.
