The Masterpiece Interview

“I Wanted to Have a Big House When I Was a Kid, But Now I Don’t” ~ Ranah Moreno

I’m starting to realize right now that money isn’t everything, it’s necessary but it’s not the most important thing.

Hello and welcome everyone to another episode of The Masterpiece Interview.

Today we have Michelle Ranah Moreno with us. For the last eight years, she has been working in the cruise industry. Native to the Philippines, Michelle remains most of her time on board, traveling to different ports in faraway lands as a part of her job. She is torn between her dream life and reality. We are very excited to have a conversation with her about her life and works.

So, let’s welcome our beautiful guest Michelle Ranah Moreno.

Welcome to The Masterpiece Interview, Michelle. How are you doing?

Ranah Moreno: I’m good. The sky and the sea are looking very nice outside my window. How are you? I’m fine. Thank you. First, tell our readers something about yourself. Who are you, in which country you are living right now, and what’s your profession?

Ranah Moreno: I am Michelle Ranah Moreno. I’m a Filipino who looks like a Chinese with a Spanish last name. 🙂

I love exploring and I want to help my family have a better life. That’s why 14 years ago, I decided to be a seafarer. I am currently onboard a cruise ship right now. We are currently sailing on the sea but we came from Miami, Florida.

We still don’t have guests on board though because of the pandemic and the cruise industry’s just restarting at the moment.

Oh, that’s wonderful. It’s great to know that the cruise industry is reviving. Anyway, tell us why you have decided to be a seafarer? Were you always fascinated by the sea? I mean, what was the reason for choosing this career?

Ranah Moreno: It’s nothing magical actually, it’s more on the practical side. My cousins are the first ones to become seafarers in our family and I’ve seen their lives get better, by better I mean financially. I grew up in a normal middle-class Filipino family. We’re not rich but we’re also not poor, although as a child I’ve dreamt of living in a big house and I guess that’s what mainly impacted my decision on pursuing this career.

In the Philippines, we have what we call “Overseas Filipino Workers” or OFW. I am one of them, who works abroad and comes back every once in a while. As a third-world country, looking for high-paying jobs in the Philippines is always tough, even looking for a decent job is tough.

But anyway, I’m lucky because my contract is only for 6–8 mos. Then I go on vacation for 2–3 months, while other OFWs who work on land have to be away for 2–3 years and only go home for vacation for 2 months and come back again. I think that is also one of the main reasons why I chose to be a seafarer rather than work on the land. It’s just like school but I get to have a salary, hahaha.

Very Interesting! And we are really curious to know how your decisions changed or transformed your life. I mean, for how many years have you been working on the sea, and how has it impacted your life and living standard? Because, sometimes, what we dream of and what we get in reality are quite different. So, when you wanted to become a seafarer and finally became one, were you happy or got hit by the unpleasant reality(if any)?

Ranah Moreno: Gosh, why do you have to ask me this, haha! Ok, I’ll be honest with my answer for sure. I have been working as a seafarer for 8 years already and I could still remember that first day I stepped on board and that night I told myself, I don’t want to go back for another contract any more and here I am 8 years later.

It’s tough. I used to work in the office in the Philippines before I become a seafarer and working on the ship is very different than working on land. We have no day-offs for the whole duration of the contract, sometimes we have to work more than 10 hrs a day and there’s also the longing for home. I miss my family every time I leave.

As for friendship, it’s really tough retaining friends on the ship since I get to work with people on a contract basis and we usually go in different ships after that. Plus, our contracts aren’t the same. I will sign on and some people are already at the end of their contract, some in the middle while I’m just beginning.

I do have my friends at home but it’s not like before since I have to be away most of the time. The same goes with romantic relationships. Some people leave because of this reason, that it’s hard to start or maintain a relationship living away most of the time.

We don’t have day offs for the whole duration of the contract and apart from that I also have a phone wherein they could contact me 24 hours a day in case I need to attend some problems at work. I don’t really receive calls in the wee hours of the morning but I do receive calls even if I’m sleeping or resting.

Even though I’m in the cabin I still think of work, because I basically live in my workplace. I don’t have a solo cabin so I don’t really have any time alone except for when I’m in the bathroom.

There was a time way back in 2017 wherein I was just recently promoted and the pressure at work was really high. I made a lot of mistakes that year and my personal life was a mess. It was in 2019 that I decided I can’t take the pressure anymore from my position and so I decided to ask for a change in the department.

But despite all of that, I did get to save money. Everything here is almost free and I only get to spend money when I buy something outside. I was able to start investing and I made it a priority to save as much as I can from my salary, which is the main reason anyway why I chose this job, right? But then again, I guess it comes with aging, I’m starting to realize right now that money isn’t everything, it’s necessary but it’s not the most important thing. I wanted to have a big house when I was a kid but now I don’t. Mostly because I don’t like to clean and a huge house is very tough to maintain and I don’t want to waste money paying for somebody to clean a huge house I don’t really need, hahaha.

That and I guess the way I look at material possessions has changed.

I was actually thinking a lot about my work during the pandemic since I was one of those people who was sent home since there are no guests on board and I don’t really have a job if they’re not in there unlike people in the Housekeeping or Engine Department who still have to keep the ship running. And until now, I’m still thinking…

My goodness! You’ve experienced a lot indeed. And with time, our perception of life, materials, and money changes. That’s natural. For most people, it takes a lot of years and experiences only to understand that money is not everything they need. There are more things in heaven and earth that are more important than money. For me, time-and-timing is far more important than anything.

Anyway, now, I am going to ask you a different question. Though you are surrounded by many people on board, I think you experience deep loneliness or solitude. Maybe it’s like being alone in the crowd (with no friends nearby), no one to open up with. So, how do you deal with loneliness? And how has it impacted your mind over the years?

Ranah Moreno: I agree with you about time, definitely that is true. Money we can work on replenishing, but we can never work to regain the time we have lost.

There are times wherein I’m like living in Michael Buble’s song, Home. I’m introverted and I’m not really into parties and find it hard to get to know people or build relationships immediately. The lyrics “Maybe surrounded by a million people I still feel all alone, but I want to go home”, yeah sometimes I think of that. It’s ironic since, as I said, I am only alone when I’m in the bathroom but having people around is very different than having somebody around with.

There are some that I am really able to think as my friends on board and I do try to call home whenever I can. But to cope with the loneliness, I do journaling a lot. I actually just started doing it last 2019 and I wish I started doing it a long time ago. It helps me a lot in clearing my mind, letting my feelings out, and feel peaceful. It’s like meditation in the form of writing.

That’s wonderful. Connecting to our friends and family (or any other human being) is a great source of joy and happiness. I feel happy and content when I have a chat with friends, colleagues, or even strangers. I feel connected to the world and my surroundings.

As you were saying you started working for the betterment of your family, we want to know who else is there in your family?

Ranah Moreno: I have my Mama and my sister right now, my Papa died last 2012. That’s also one of the reasons why I really think having savings and being financially prepared in life is important.

My father’s death may have happened because while he’s confined in the hospital, he worries about money, of not being able to support us financially, and harboring debt if ever his operation in the hospital wasn’t successful.

So sorry to hear that. It was indeed a tough time for you. And now, we understand your choice of being a seafarer. You are a wonderful person who cares so much for her family. We really appreciate that.

So, after so many years of works and continuing, what do you think can make you happy? I mean, have you figured out the things that can make you happy and peaceful?

With this question, the first thing that came into my mind is “I don’t know”. I think it’s because there’s a part of me that wonders — is this really all there is in life? Is this really what am I supposed to do in this life? And with those questions comes the feeling that I could do more, that I should be doing something more, that there is something else that I could be doing, it’s out there and I have to find it.

I just don’t know what it is yet but it is out there. I want to reach for it, look for it, discover it but there’s also this feeling of doubt. What if I’m just being ungrateful? What if this is unsatisfaction? What if this is just the disease of wanting more and more and more?

I look outside my room and I could see the sea and the blue sky. I touch my fluffy blanket and feel the expanse of my bed. I’m working on a cruise ship. I’m safe, healthy and I have everything I need. My body parts are complete. I’m living my dream, aren’t I?

So, I start feeling grateful and peace comes next. I know that the feeling of peace has always been with us, it never leaves us, we just tend to forget it from time to time. Some people forget it more than others. I had this realization before wherein our hearts are actually our reminder of the feeling of peacefulness.

It’s the steady beating of our hearts, that is what peace feels like. But nevertheless, there’s always this ghost of questions I have said earlier that comes to haunt me from time to time.

You said it right. Peace never leaves us. All we need is to discover our treasures and be grateful for them, and not complaining about what is not ours. I think only then peace and a sense of satisfaction can surround us.

Now, tell us about the pandemic time and how you spent your days when you were off the cruise work. When did the pandemic start in your country, and what’s the condition now?

Ranah Moreno: Well, it’s definitely a lot better now in the Philippines than last year. I remember when I got home I had to go straight to quarantine and nobody’s really was allowed to go out unless it’s their time of the week to go shopping in the market and only one person per family was allowed. Now, the vaccine is slowly but steadily rolling and the economy is getting better.

I do have savings but I don’t want to spend all of it. And I wanted to try out having a business since before. So I convinced my sister and mama that we should start a business. We opened an online food delivery, mama cooks, and my sister bakes. I do the marketing, posting on social media, and talking to the customers and I also help them out in the kitchen. Until now it’s operational.

I also took this time to get better personally. I started reading a lot about Stoicism, I went to a fighting camp with my family wherein my sister and I did circuit training while my mama does boxing, rode the bike a lot around town. I also joined a writing class. And that’s how I came to know about you and eventually, you became one of my online mentors and accountability partners in writing.

Wow! That seems like you and your family have utilized the time very wisely. No doubt, you’ve learned so many things during this time.

Ranah Moreno: We did, we definitely bonded together as a family. 🙂

Tell us more about your writing class. What type of program you were enrolled in and how was that experience?

Ranah Moreno: It’s called How To Write Better and it was actually by Joshua Millburn from The Minimalists.

I took his class because I like the cause he’s promoting which is by living minimally, we tend to live better. I’ve read his book Everything That Remains and I like his writing style. So, I signed up when I learned that he’s opening up the enrolment for his class last March.

He provides us a reference on books which will help us write better and a required reading on a grammar book. It was tough getting over that one. It was online but the focus is on creating a habit. He has what he calls the “Sit in the chair” exercise wherein we’d have to sit in the chair and write, just write, for at least an hour every day and then report to our accountability partner afterward.

He taught us how to create our shitty first drafts and also how to edit. It’s a month-long experience of pure writing. They also just did a rebuff on the videos and we also get access to the new content. So, it’s not a one-time experience, we can access the class again if we want to.

It was a good experience although a person can be a great writer without it. I realized that writing is purely ‘work’, just like any other job. You get better through experience. You learn from the works of others as well as from yourself.

Inspiration doesn’t come, you have to create it. You don’t need to be born with the talent to become a writer, you just have to have enough patience, drive and you really have to want it to go through the drudgery of writing if you want to become a writer.

Everybody can write, but it takes time, constant work, and practice to write beautifully.

I loved that you said that writing is purely work, just like any other job. You are absolutely right. And The Minimalists are amazing. I have watched a documentary on them long ago and I loved it.

So, getting back to writing — do you write very often, now? As you are on board, it must be difficult for you to manage time. And tell us about your favorite topics as well.

Ranah Moreno: I don’t publish often anymore but I do write in my journal almost every day. In the same way, I try to make the emails and messages I sent count 🙂.

I’d like to think that there are many ways to exercise writing and if we really want to write it’s not really just what we publish but it’s in everything that the written word flows from the thoughts we create in our brain.

I used to really like Travel Story articles. When I read Piecing Together Puzzles in Cambodia in National Geographic written by Don George, I fell in love with the town he went into and the people he met. I want to experience the same thing and that, for me, is what powerful writing is. It became my inspiration since I love traveling as well.

I was once sitting in the Junkanoo Beach in the Bahamas and I was thinking about why do I really want to travel, and I wrote in my notebook “To fall in love with the world, each place my muse, each one of them my lover.”

I also like self-improvement and I know it’s big right now but improvement doesn’t really have an end.

Yes, you are right that there are many ways to exercise writing. And I must say you are very good at writing as I have read some of your articles. You definitely should continue this. And I am sure you will be better and better if you continue practicing.

Now let’s move to a different topic. Maybe from one of your writings, we have come to know that you went through a difficult time in a relationship, I mean a romantic relationship, to be specific. If you have no problem, can you share what love means to you and how your relationship ended and what you have learned from that?

Ranah Moreno: I usually don’t share personal stuff but writing helped me become more open and realize that my experiences could actually help other people. I wrote this article titled, To Pursue a Dream or To Choose Love, and it talks about this age-old question that most of us face once or twice in a lifetime wherein we have to choose in between the two.

So, as I have said earlier, back in 2017, I was really under huge stress from work. I got the promotion I’d been wanting, I was working on the newest ship on the fleet, I feel great but at the same time, I was under a lot of pressure to prove myself. At the same time, my ego was inflated and I was very self-entitled.

I was going up at work but my relationship was going down. I stopped communicating with my then-boyfriend and eventually, I did something horrendous. I did not like myself at that time. He trusted in me and I broke his heart. After 5 years of being together, the relationship ended. It was a wake-up call on what is happening in my life and I learned a lot about myself.

I learned that we create the love we share with another person but we are also the ones who can destroy it. It’s amazing when we find love, but true love, the one that stands the test of time is constant work, it’s about showing up, it’s about choosing the other person over and over again.

When we broke up, I was constantly asking myself, what would happen if I didn’t work on the ship? What if I just stayed at home? Will we still be together? Will I not have turned out to be the person I have become? I blamed myself. But then, I realized I wouldn’t really know. This is my dream, I made a mistake at that time but that is only part of an experience on this dream, on this life I chose for myself. It doesn’t mean that what happened represents the whole.

How could I end up happy with a person if I know something’s missing in my life if I didn’t try something I want to try? So, love is also about acceptance.

Actually, I think love is just an illusion. People have different meanings about love and you cannot really tell a person that “no, this is the definition of love”. It’s like a collection of so many things and the absence of so many things as well. I personally think it’s just a way for people to name something they couldn’t fully explain, just like God.

Wonderful! Love is indeed a work in progress. And I wish you the best of luck for the life you’ve chosen for yourself. I strongly believe you will do excellent and find the right person to share your life with. And it’s true we learn and grow through our mistakes. It’s part of life.

Anyway, tell us more about your current work. What do you generally do? I mean what your typical workday looks like? How different is life on the water in the vast emptiness?

Ranah Moreno: I’m a Media Manager and my job is more on marketing, project management, and auditing. I work mostly with the Entertainment Director but I work also with the other departments onboard.

Because of the pandemic, we are focusing now on utilizing the usage of the ship app for our guests. Since the cruise is nonstop, it is important that I am organized and flexible.

It’s true that the water is vast but it is definitely not empty, at least for life onboard. A typical day at work would be waking up early to go to the gym and afterwards breakfast, then office work. I do my own schedule so, in the afternoon, I could either take a break after lunch or continue working.

I go around the ship to do audits. And if I took a break in the afternoon, I may work until late, it depends on the amount of work I have to do. During port days though, whenever I have time I go out to enjoy.

That’s great. So, I think because of the nature of your work, you’ve visited many countries. Can you tell us how many countries you’ve visited so far and about some of your favorite ones?

Ranah Moreno: Not that much but I was able to go visit Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and the Bahamas to name a few. I cannot really name a favorite but I love my experience in New York City, LA, and New Zealand.

New Zealand has the nicest people and their environment is very beautiful. LA and New York have been my dream to be able to visit since before, whenever I see in the movies and they are really spectacular cities. The architecture is amazing and the city seems to be alive and breathing.

I heard a lot about New Zealand. I hope to visit that country someday.

Michelle, we are at the very end of our conversation. Let me ask you some quick questions.

What thing do you dislike the most onboard? Ranah Moreno: hmmm. Having no day-off probably.

Name at least three of your favorite books Ranah Moreno: This is hard, hahaha.

• A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
• Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

It’s more of the experience I’ve attached to them than the content I guess that made them my favorite.

What is your biggest fear in life? Ranah Moreno: Wow, I haven’t asked myself that question in a long time. Hahahha.

Do you have any hobbies? What are they? Ranah Moreno: Definitely, reading.

What’s your favorite food? Ranah Moreno: Sweet Spaghetti.

What do you look for in a human being? Ranah Moreno: Feeling of aliveness.

Do you have any role models whom you follow or get inspiration from Ranah Moreno: Definitely, Marcus Aurelius.

Did this pandemic teach you any life lessons? If yes, what are they? Ranah Moreno: A lot. It’s very important to have savings, spending time with family is important, it’s possible to live with so little, material things are not as important as we think it is, getting disconnected and having time alone is good for the soul, maintaining good health is imperative, we make our own happiness, the things we don’t like from our parents could be the very same thing we don’t like on ourselves, our parents are not perfect and so are we, anger should not be reciprocated with anger as it doesn’t solve anything, creativity is better than knowledge, being able to go outside is a privilege, enjoy the little things and one more, we’re lucky just to be alive

That’s lovely. You’re a wonderful person, Michelle and we loved this conversation with you. And with this, we conclude the interview. Thank you so much for your time. Ranah Moreno: Thank you for inviting me.

Dear readers, We hope you’ve enjoyed the conversation with Ranah Moreno. You can also read her writings by visiting her Medium profile. We are sure that you will enjoy her wonderful stories.

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