By Marconi Calindas
\nReporter<\/p>\n
Recalling her first day in Manila after a six-year term as Philippine consul general to Saipan, Julia Heidemann said she had woken up and immediately recognized the ceiling\u2014she was inside her very own bedroom in Manila. She was finally home. That was when she realized that she didn\u2019t have to go to work. Instead of relaxing her, however, this only prompted her to go over a cascade of plans of what she wanted to do.<\/p>\n
Despite having already retired, this ever-active woman still can\u2019t seem to settle down. When she was asked about her retirement, \u201cTo me it\u2019s just a comma,\u201d she laughed. \u201cI think I\u2019m hyper.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked if she has plans of resting, she asked: \u201cWhat is rest? When I\u2019m at rest my mind is full!\u201d She said that when she is not doing anything, her mind comes up with ideas, which she sounds out on her husband, Richard. \u201cWhat do you think of this project?\u201d she would ask him. More often than not, he would just give her an indulgent smile.<\/p>\n
Apparently, resting is not in Heidemann\u2019s vocabulary. True enough, after leaving Saipan, she became a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson for a year. When she left that job, she went on a lecture series in schools and other learning institutions in her country, at the same time managing her own company, while remaining active in the Philippine government.<\/p>\n
Heidemann and her husband were on Saipan last week for personal and business reasons. The couple has since returned to Manila.<\/p>\n
She said, though, that she could not help but feel sad when she left Saipan in 2003. What she misses most about the island is the warmth of the people. She said people she meets on the streets of Saipan would greet her, whereas in Manila her own neighbors would not even notice if she leaves. She also misses the clean air here and the continuous flow of traffic. \u201cHere [on Saipan] if I want to go to a place, I could say I\u2019d be there in five minutes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
When time hangs heavy on her hands, Heidemann said she would cook. She has always been a great cook\u2014at least that\u2019s what her husband and her family claims, she said, laughing. Her husband Richard adores her \u201csinigang.\u201d Her husband also gets the cravings every time she brings out all her cookbooks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do a lot of reading,\u201d she said, when asked what she and her husband do as a couple most of the time. She also owned up to passion for writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love to write,\u201d she said, explaining why she took the post at DFA handling the diplomatic press corps.<\/p>\n
Heidemann is also taking time to learn how to play golf by joining her husband on trips out of the city. \u201cNow that I have retired I have more things to do, than when I was working,\u201d she said. She said she couldn\u2019t say no to offers such as volunteer work, joining a committee and others.<\/p>\n
If there is any place that she loves to visit, it would be Honolulu, Hawaii. \u201cFor sentimental reasons,\u201d she said, adding that that is where she and husband met, apart from the reason that her only son lives there, too. \u201cWe also have a lot of friends there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
When asked if she already got everything she wanted out of life, she said, \u201cThere\u2019s still the best to come. I can\u2019t say this is the best, was the best or was the highlight of my life. I should say there\u2019s something else, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard added: \u201cWe all know what we have accomplished but we don\u2019t know what life will take us in the future. And that\u2019s how we live our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
One piece of advice? \u201cLove your job. Material things will not matter in the future. As long as you know what you want and you are happy, money will not matter anymore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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