From Dawn Till Dusk

Hubby and I always pass by C5 whenever we’re Makati or Manila bound. One thing I amuse myself in the light of heavy traffic along our way are huge billboards that never fail to interests me, especially when we’re heading up to the bridge near Buting.

The billboard that Ayala Malls uses to announce the latest events in their chain of malls, Gretchen’s demure poses for Plains and Prints, oozing Dingdong Dantes in an underwear ad (I forgot the brand because it’s Dingdong which makes me look back again and again, heehee), Sam Milby for a local bank (again, I forgot what bank, ang gwapo kasi ni Sam, heehee)—name it, and you’ll be amused and surprised you’re okay and alright even stuck in the middle of bumper to bumper traffic.

Anyway, there’s this one billboard though that never fail to catch my attention and always makes me pause for a while and think:

It’s an advertisement by RCBC for its line of insurance products, hoping to impart subliminal messages for a group of selected audience. Makes me think: should it be that we set a deadline for our dreams? The way I see it, isn’t it that dreams are supposed to those that are timeless? Those that can be attained at your own sweet time? Goals could have been the more appropriate word for it. At least, with goals, you can set a time frame when you could achieve it, right? Or it’s just me whose getting the wrong message? Well, every concept of an advertisement are brainstormed and crafted to fit its own audience. Heehee.

Anyway, it was so apt I browsed through that photo I took of the billboard once again as I was about to do the I wish I was a/an…. tag by Mitch. (hahaha, hanep ba sa segway?) The rule of the tag says: “Below are the letters A-Z. You have to fill in your dreams and wishes in the letter that corresponds to the first letters of your full name, and these wishes of yours should also start with those letters.”

Hmmm, okay. I will comply with the rules but allow me to reminisce first how I came to dream that dream. (naks! parang seryoso talaga eh noh? heehee)

When I was in grade school (around Grade 3, I think), I had this assignment to write a script for our school play: Romeo and Juliet. I was a wee bit shy grade schooler at that time (na tingin ko, namana sa akin ng anak ko ) and so just to escape certain roles in plays (would you believe, kahit extra extra lang sa play, nahihiya pa akong gumanap), I alway begged my Teachers to just give me other tasks such those behind the scenes i.e. produce the props or do something else, but not the one to go up on stage and play a role. And so, the Teacher challenged me to write the script. Guess what? I did it in just a few sittings. My English Teacher was really impressed with what I wrote and since then, I’ve discovered my love for writing, grammatical errors and wrong spellings notwithstanding.

My love for the craft was greatly complemented in school activities like being active in school newsletters and gazettes and a huge part of that was the motivation of my late Dad who encouraged me to pursue my dream. And in no time, I find myself enrolling Journalism as course in College. It’s supposedly a preparatory course for Bachelor of Laws, but for over a year or two I was already working in the field, I totally forgot about being lawyer someday and pursue a post-graduate study on Communication Research instead while working on the side still.

I’ve been in the field for over 10 years now, and you wouldn’t totally believe it, but what I write in this online journal is far from what I do at work. The writings I do are mostly business and economic news and the style should meet newspaper/editorial standards. Not too much adjectives, should be objective with facts stated, not opinionated and the likes. Have heard of nomenclature tariff lines, trade-in goods, quota-free environment, JPEPA, WTO, ASEAN, freight on board rules? These are some of mundane things I write about for the organization I work for. I have to wear several hats just as so I am able to capture what needs to be written and communicated to stakeholders. But hey, I’m not complaining. I really love my work because I learn so many things even if it sometimes takes making the international trade books as a my so-called “bible”.

On the other side of writing though, Blogging has brought me so much liberation compared to my regular writing job. Heehee, kaya sa sobrang liberation, ang haba ko tuloy magsulat at mag-kwento. Just like this post, mukhang nobela na yata. LOL.

Anyway, I’d thought a piece of that dream I’ve had worth sharing. May it be offline or online, or even when there’s just me reading my work, I’d still love to write, if only to express my thoughts, no matter how nonsense or sensible they are.

And before I totally forgot what this post is all about, I’m listing my own dream in the enumerations. Tagging Cess, Mary, and Weng for this wonderful Meme. Care to share your hopes and dreams? Promise, gaano man kahaba ang kwento, makikinig ako.

A: architect architect/artist
B: ballroom dancer billionaire philanthropist
C: chef
D:
E:
F: Fabulous writer of great dreams
G: Grand Dame
H:
I:
J: jewelry maker
K:
L:
M: multi-millionaire
N:
O:
P:
Q:
R:
S:
T:
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z: