Returning to work
It´s very special to be able to work with a Manet a Rodin or a Lalique , shooting a ancient gold greek coin before changing al setup to acomade a beauthiful egiptian Funerarl mask, Thiswas my daily routine as a photographer for the Gulbenkian Foundation and I dearly missed it, as well as my coworkers, whom I had grown close to and had a great relationship with, who also embraced me with open arms and full support flexibility to allow me to take my time getting used to my new job. The Foundation, as always, was supportive of my new condition; I had full flexibility for my daily physical therapy sessions and always a helping hand nearby. That is why I stress we must count our blessings. Unfortunately, due to internal reorganization, my closer team was divided between the Gulbenkian Museum with the founder art collection and the collection of contemporary and modern art in the renovated bulding of Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian (CAM). I have to say this was a sad moment because I love to work with my team, and we had great energy together. On the other hand , I was starting the new CAM photografic department from scratch. It was challenging and rewarding.
However, I quickly realized that I was working on my own in a new studio where there were no familiar faces around to help me out, which was a bit frustrating, and I was not recovering as fast as I had hoped, which only added to my frustration. Some final changes in the team also showed me that the motto "only the best is good enough" that always characterized Gulbenkian was shifting to a more cost effective approach, including outsourcing I was offered a move to an easier function where I would not nedd to be as physical as in the studio and would work solely in the computer managing the photo archive. Although I appreciated the offer, I am a specialized photographer and I enjoy being physical in the studio, and I enjoy pursuing the high-precision photos that art reproductions require. Shortly after, I was summoned for a medical examination by the Portuguese social security services to assess my disability and was offered an early retirement with a normal pension. It looked like all things around me were showing me a way.
I memembered what Bernard Moitessier said in the long way: " There are two terrible things for a man: not to have fulfilled his dream, and to have fulfilled it.I had fulfilledc my dream of riding all latitudes of the world, but I still dream on sailing all longitudes, so let´s do it! I decided for the early retirement. I lost part of my monthly regular funds but I gain total freedom to pursuit my dream of sailing around the world. It's time for Project Tāmata.
