A Journey Across Lands and Lives
At the age of twenty-five, I married an American woman and relocated to Green Bay, Wisconsin. My first job there was as a bar cleaner at a tavern called Farr's Grove in Duck Creek, Brown County. I believe I was the first colored man many of the local residents had ever met.
Later, I was hired as a sweeper and cleaner at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. After every game, especially during the brutal Wisconsin winters, I would haul bagloads of paper cups and hot dog wrappers. It was hard, honest work.
Eventually, I found employment at Green Bay Meats and Cold Storage as a boner. For three years, I worked in the frigid slaughterhouses of Green Bay and later Milwaukee, learning to expertly separate bones from meat.
After suffering a nervous breakdown and losing my wife and son through divorce, I was accepted to the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. I designed my own academic program under the Independent Studies department and eventually graduated with a Bachelor’s degree. To survive during those years, I worked as both a librarian and a security guard. It took me ten years, but I paid off every cent of my student loan.
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Soon after graduating, I moved to Sand Point, Alaska, a remote fishing town in the Aleutian Chain. I joined a commercial fishing crew working the rough waters of the Bering Sea. The seasickness was intense, but I found a different survival path—selling my artwork, which turned out to be more fruitful than fishing.
In 1983 or '84, I moved to San Francisco and joined the Zen Buddhist community. My Zen instructor helped me land a job with an Englishman renovating office buildings, including Teller machine installations. That job took me all over the Bay Area and gave me valuable hands-on experience.
Later, I joined the Zen community at Green Gulch Farm, near Sausalito in Marin County. I lived and practiced there for nearly two years, working the organic farm that helped sustain the community. It was a formative spiritual period of my life.
After leaving the monastery, I worked for H&H Ship and Environmental Services at China Basin on the San Francisco waterfront. I started as a sweeper and worked my way up to Yard Superintendent in charge of the Underground Cleaning and Disposal Facility.
At one point, I became a produce buyer for Del Tomasso, purchasing fresh produce from the San Francisco Market during the graveyard shift and delivering it across the Bay to a shopping mall. I also sold temporary tattoos at Shoreline Amphitheater during concerts.
By 1991, I chose to become a full-time babysitter for my two young children, aged one and two. Their mother worked, and I did not want someone else raising them. My eldest son from my first marriage once said his friend told him that being a full-time father was the hardest job a man could take on. I wholeheartedly agreed.
In 1995, my late wife was offered a job teaching ESL in Sendai, Japan, and we relocated there. I continued caring for our children while pursuing my art. In Sendai, I created some of my best work and held six solo exhibitions, including one at the prestigious Miyagi Museum of Fine Arts, where I spent much of my free time.
I also taught as an art lecturer for a semester at a Japanese prep school, gaining valuable teaching experience and insight into Japanese work culture.
In 1998, we moved our family back to Malaysia. My wife became a lecturer at KUSZA in Kuala Terengganu. I worked as a Health and Safety Officer in Kerteh and later in Gebeng, Pahang, on Petronas refinery facilities. I served under three companies: Ibai Bina Sdn. Bhd., Van Seumerren Romstar, and Autoblast Industrial Painting. These roles demanded strong communication skills, especially when it came to enforcing work safety. It was a daily challenge of discipline and diplomacy.
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From Duck Creek to the Bering Sea: A Journey of Labor, Art, and Awakening
At the age of twenty-five, I married an American lady and relocated to Green Bay, Wisconsin. My first job was as a bar cleaner at a tavern called Farr's Grove in Duck Creek, Brown County. I believe I was the first colored guy most of the residents there had ever met.
Later, I found work as a sweeper and cleaner at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. After every game, especially during the freezing winter months, I picked up paper cups and hot dog wrappers by the bagloads. It was hard, cold, honest work.
Eventually, I was employed by Green Bay Meats and Cold Storage as a boner. After three years working in the icy slaughterhouses of Green Bay and later in Milwaukee, I became skilled at separating bone from flesh. The job was demanding, but it taught me precision, endurance, and humility.
After suffering a nervous breakdown and losing my wife and son through divorce, I was accepted into the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay. I designed my own program through the Independent Studies department and eventually graduated with a self-directed Bachelor's degree.
While a student, I worked as a librarian and a security guard to survive. It took me ten years, but I paid off every cent of my student loans. That felt like a victory no one could take away from me.
Soon after graduation, I moved to Sand Point, Alaska, part of the Aleutian Island chain. I joined a commercial fishing crew in the cold waters of the Bering Sea. I quickly discovered that I was prone to seasickness in rough weather, but I managed to survive by selling my artwork—which proved more profitable than fishing itself.
Around 1983 or '84, I moved to San Francisco and joined the Zen Buddhist community there. My first job came through my Zen instructor, who introduced me to an Englishman renovating office buildings and installing Teller machines. That job took me all over the Bay Area and gave me valuable hands-on experience in construction and renovation.
Later, I joined the Zen community at Green Gulch Farm in the Sausalito area of Marin County. I became a Zen student and worked on the organic farm in exchange for food and lodging. I stayed there for nearly two years, doing odd jobs while deepening my Zen practice.
After leaving the monastery, I was employed by H&H Ship and Environmental Services, located on China Basin along the SF waterfront. I started as a sweeper and worked my way up to become the Yard Superintendent, overseeing the Underground Cleaning and Disposal Facility.
I also worked as a produce buyer for a company called Del Tomasso, purchasing fresh goods from the SF Produce Market—which ran from midnight into the early morning—and delivering them to a mall across the Bay.
For a while, I even sold temporary tattoos at Shoreline Amphitheater during live concerts.
Then, in 1991, I made a life-changing decision: I became a full-time babysitter for my two toddlers, aged one and two. Their mother was working, and I didn’t want anyone else raising my children.
One day, my eldest son from my first marriage told me his friend had said, "Your dad has the hardest job a man can do." I agreed with that wholeheartedly. It was my way of being present, of choosing fatherhood over everything else.
In 1995, my late wife was offered a job teaching English as a Second Language in Sendai, Japan, and so we moved to Japan. I continued babysitting while she worked.
In Sendai, I produced some of my finest artworks, held six solo exhibitions, and even showed my work at the Miyagi Museum of Fine Arts, where I spent most of my free time when not parenting.
I was also hired as an art lecturer at a Japanese prep school for a semester, which gave me a memorable window into Japanese education and culture.
In 1998, we moved back to Malaysia, where my wife became a lecturer at KUSZA University in Kuala Terengganu. I found employment as a Health and Safety Officer in Kerteh and later in Gebeng, Pahang, working at Petronas refinery facilities.
I worked for three companies during this time—Ibai Bina Sdn. Bhd., Van Seumerren Romstar, and Autoblast Industrial Painting. These roles required me to confront and discipline employees on safety procedures, testing my ability to communicate clearly and enforce responsibility under high-pressure conditions.
🖋 This is a glimpse into the road I’ve walked through harsh winters and Zen silence, slaughterhouses and stormy seas, fatherhood and art. These are not just memories; they are the brushstrokes of a life lived fully.
#DuckCreekToBeringSea #LifeInTransition #ArtAndLabor #ZenJourney #CulturalAwakening #FatherhoodMatters #WisconsinToJapan #SlaughterhouseToZen #GlobalNomad #FromGreenBayToSendai #WorkAndArt #MemoirOfASeeker #SurvivalThroughArt #BeringSeaFisherman #SanFranciscoZen #GreenGulchFarm #PetronasDays #HealthAndSafetyLife #CheeseburgerBuddha #JourneyOfBecoming #LegacyOfArtAndSpirit
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