I’ve been in the nation’s capital since the 2nd of June, and I have 2 more days to go before I go back to my beloved Davao. However, I’m not really all that excited to go back just yet. In fact, I feel like extending my stay here for another week or so!

Being in Metro Manila makes me feel I’m in the center of things, that’s why. I made this trip to put in motion the organizing of WordCamp Philippines 2008 — that’s still for September, but I needed to touch base with our collaborators and sponsors, and to visit the venue.

I actually had only two or three sponsors in my schedule, but ever since I got here, I’ve been able to get more people interested in WordCamp! That’s what I mean by being in the center: things get done fairly quickly or at least directly, and everything around you is a-buzz with activity.

There was also a chance for me to land a client while staying in Metro Manila. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time — something that happens not too often in Davao. I mean, there’s just so much opportunity here!

I remember feeling exactly this way back in 2005 when I was living in Makati and working on a couple of Japanese-language translation projects. I came for only one, but got the other one thanks to a talk on managing translation projects that I gave during my stay.

Not that Davao is too far away… but it is far away from where the real action is. Still, I look forward to going home this Sunday. At least, I got another shot-in-the-arm experience to keep me alert and rarin’ to do more!

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