Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Short Social Fiction: Adventures of Tupi 2

(Day 7)

The first week has passed. The theme of the week is change. Change was not easy for Tupi, and like many people, there were sleepless nights, anxiety and some depression. Tupi never had that much free time, and doing nothing was killing him. His schedules were always packed and his routine fixed. Tupi rarely took much leave or gone on a holiday, as he enjoyed having certainty.

Tupi with his new laptop has applied for many jobs which he thinks he has the right skill sets. By the end of the week, Tupi has exhausted all the contacts he had and applied for all the jobs he could find. Tupi decided to attend all the networking events he could find online. He reached out to friends, ex-colleagues and alumni, and after scheduling some meetings with friends he did not meet up for years.

Tupi ended up packing his schedule by going to help some friends move, baby showers and his friend's children's graduation. Tupi felt a lot better when he helped others and started to look to tasks to volunteer. Then it seemed like an opportunity has came -- Michael, Tupi's classmate from high school is going to Indonesia to work on a charity water project in a village.

Tupi took in a deep breath. It felt out of character. Then he nodded to himself and clenched his fist and pumped it like he was tugging on an invisible chain. "This feels right." Tupi muttered and took out his phone. "Here it goes."

Tupi could feel his heart beat faster. Suddenly he felt excited like he was going to do something good. He felt nervous and anxiety again. "What if I get rejected? Should I be looking for a job instead of spending money?" There was a lot of self doubt, but before Tupi put away his phone, he took in another deep breadth Tupi made himself dialed Michael.

Ring, Ring...

"Hello Michael." Tupi said as the phone got connected.

"Hi..." the voice responded.

"Its me... Tupi, from St. Andrews Secondary School?" Tupi said.

"Oh.. hey! What's up buddy?" the voice responded with an upbeat pitch.

"Saw from your Facebook post that you are going to Indonesia to help a village. Seems like a very noble and interesting thing to do." Tupi said. "How can I join?"

"Oh, I volunteer with a Church group, and they are working with an NGO here which is going there." Michael said. "I think there is a fee to join, and that is excluding your own airfares to get there."

"Can you send me more information?" Tupi requested eagerly. "I've not done this before, and I am free this weekend and have no plans anyways."

"Sure! Let me send you the information." Michael said. "What is your email address, perhaps I can send you the forms and links to register...."

Tupi got all the information from Michael and chatted a while. It seemed that many things have changed, and Michael is now a father of 2 kids. Tupi received the email and immediately registered and booked his tickets for the weekend trip. It felt spontaneous. It felt great. It is not go time!

The brown suitcase was taken out from storage. It had a layer of dust and Tupi used a damp rag and wiped it off. Many thoughts were going through his mind as his heartbeat increased, his breadth was shallow as he started to pack for the trip. Everything was well organized and he had no problems searching for what he needed. "Hello camera...." Tupi muttered and found his trusty old camera. It was a film camera - Canon EOS 1, and photography one of his hobbies he had before he got offered his first job.

Opening his refrigerator, Tupi found a few rolls of film. "They are still around..." he muttered and checked on the condition of the film. "Still looks good." Then continued to check on the batteries and other equipment he wanted to bring on the trip. This was an unfamiliar feeling, something he has not felt in a long time. Tupi was not sure if it was discomfort or otherwise, but the trip was going to happen and there was no turning back.




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