Lifeline

It's been 11 days since the Clairvoyant left for the US and Canada to participate in meetings of their firm in Chicago and visit her brother in Montreal. She was originally to fly to Chicago via Los Angeles but had to change her flight due to concerns regarding a local flag carrier's labor problems. Instead, she traveled via Incheon in Korea. It turned out to be cheaper and she was able to get a code share flight to and from Montreal. The only downside, if you can call it that, is that she won't be able to visit relatives in LA and go with them to Las Vegas. Our relatives have originally planned to vacation in Las Vegas with the Clairvoyant tagging along to finally see another city that doesn't sleep.

The Clairvoyant and I are not strangers to long distance communications. It was how we met in the first place and we know how to wield the tool that is the internet. More than 10 years ago, communications were via email, AOL Instant Messenger or internet relay chat (IRC). Then, there was also the option of snail mail although I remember I preferred using the post office's Express Mail Service (EMS) to send cards and what have you to the Clairvoyant. We didn't exchange photos as this was part of our informal, undeclared agreement on "just chatting and exchanging notes" about anything under the sun.

Our tools then were significantly and perhaps tens of times better than what people before the era of the internet had to go through in order to get in touch with loved ones. These days, the arsenal has expanded to include Skype and voice chats like the ones provided by Google and Yahoo. Even as I write, I am actually speaking with the Clairvoyant over Google's voice chat. If the Clairvoyant had a camera on her computer, we could also have a kind of video conferencing! Now that should be a great experience for loved ones separated by geography.

This experience will be what we will have to undergo and perhaps for a much longer period come January. The Clairvoyant will be based in Singapore from then as she will be transferring to their office in that country. The good news is that Singapore is wired and will surely have the communications facilities that would ensure an efficient lifeline. It helps that Manila and Singapore also share the same time zone. Maybe we'll just try to travel more with the Clairvoyant flying to Manila once a month and me doing the same. That will surely fill our passports with stamps, even if its just for Singapore and Manila. We're bracing ourselves for that eventuality.