My career as a writer has been defined by my journey as a woman. Let me show you how.
A few years later, I had gotten married and had a child. Giddy with the joys of motherhood, I plunged deep into kurot sa puso moments for Kodak, Gerber, Ovaltine, Tang, Cheez Wiz, Kraft Cheese, and fun and games with Chippy, Jack n Jill Pretzels, Piattos and a whole bunch of snacks.
Motherhood sucks you in, and it's all up to you if you'll end up either a hip mama or a hip manang. Somehow, I got caught in between, and so while I dabbled in the techi-ness of Dream Satellite, Samsung, Nextel, iAcademy, StarWorld and American Eye Center, I also hit the kusina with Payless Instant Noodles, 555 Carne Norte, Angel Condensada and Blue Bay Sardines, plus the labahan with Budget Bareta and Winrox Bleach.
Hitting midlife and limping past it a few years later, the connection seems totally lost, the concept suddenly off-strat.
This is because during the past year, I have written, or am now in the process of writing for: Monark-CAT Heavy Equipment, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP), Shell, Quezon Power Ltd., Saggitarius Mines, the Department of Energy and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Sometimes it's brainless but at times it's a struggle – for insights, for familiarity, for words.
Did I cross the gender boundary unknowingly... while I was texting on my cellphone or updating my blog? Did I get a testosterone transfusion? How did I become macho overnight?
Discussing this realization with a friend over Yahoo Messenger this morning, I asked, "Did I become flexible or desperate?" He said he was sure I had grown flexible or else I would be writing for taho instead. But hey, I can do that!
On my first month on my first job, my boss said, "to be a good writer, one should NOT have a style," I didn't believe her then but now I know that she did know what she was talking about. Even if it seems I'd need a lifetime of learning not to have a style.
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4 comments:
ed, ayaw mong angkinin ang american eye? swak sa mid-lifing natin! sige na...while the end product is half client's, iyo pa rin ang creative attempts. not bad for pamalengke, right? come to think of it, they haven't paid us yet! teka, makapaningil nga...
Ay, I forgot! That's one more proof of mid-lifingeste memory gap. Thanks for reminding me, I will edit :-)
Creative attempts, hahaha.
speaking of style...i dabbled into pr writing for several years also. guess where---fashion! Even my sisters thought I was in the wrong genre. But some of my so-called write-ups made it from half-page to full-page. Luck...baka lang walang mailagay yung editor :-). then came a project about maritime insurance---whaaa? So...talagang as much as "writing style" is concerned, I learned to be a chameleon.
Your array of clients is impressive, Carol. If you get to write for the Zionists, just tell me. That would be interesting!
I think it's always good to surprise ourselves with what we can do.
Zionists, I guess not in this lifetime :-)
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