K's top 5 dream jobs

Watched High Fidelity again after a long time. At this point in my life, I needed to watch that movie. This is the time when I pause and I ask myself, “What have I done so far? What is the sense of it all?”
 
This week I made a bold move and I just quit my job because I was tired of letting life slip away from my fingers doing something I did not like to do. So, what’s next?
I guess it’s to find out what makes me happy.

In reference to Rob Gordon’s take on what could have been his life, I give you…

K’s top 5 top dream jobs:

1. Literature professor

Believe or not, when I was in UP, I thought the coolest job was to be a literature professor. Peng, Rubs and I befriended our communication and humanities professors in college. I may be that old because I can’t remember their names. But because of the two of them, we used to hang-out a lot at FAC. Is it what it’s called? Anyway, it’s the faculty center and they have their cubes, where mostly students flock about to get exam results, submit late papers, get classcards or plead for passing grades.

I always thought it had a noble feel about it. This little cube you share with a co-professor where you keep your desk and all your clutter. And the door that says your name on the outside in engraved metal plates. I thought it was the coolest thing.

I love literature and I think I am the type who would talk non-stop about a poem, a story, a novel, inspire people to read and write, hold poetry readings and watch plays and call them course requirements. As expected, Comm and Hum were my best subjects.

Like the UP centennial questionnaire, if I were free to choose in highscool, I would have majored in literature or creative writing for pre-law I suppose, but Lit professor would have been the bomb.

2. TV journalist / columnist for a newspaper / magazine reporter

The reason I like watching CNN is not to hear about the horrid news that keep happening all over the world every single day. Rather it’s about watching journalists cover stories, and give their take on why events happened. I’d imagine myself far and away, on a strange shore, or on the actual site, being blown away by a hurricane and telling the story on TV.

In this day and age, columnist for a newspaper maybe near extinction with the blog generation and all. But I sure wanted to write anything under the sun, and have people read it and give insight to. I am so glad for multiply because it answers this craving. (sorry people, I know I have a limited, but special audience ;-)

The possibility of interviewing a popular person or celebrity or musician for a magazine article would have been a rush. I’d want to ask them the right questions. Say to Adriana, “what were you thinking posing with just a leaf on?” or Kylie, “what’s the thing you can’t get out of your head?”.

3. Poet / Novelist

Quoting Attilio de Giovanni in the movie A Tiger in the Snow, "There must be people whose job it is to use the right words, put things in a way... who when their heart beats, can get other people's hearts to beat.  That day I decided to become a poet.”

Like what the world needs is another sad poet writing about love and its intricacies. But incidentally, when I felt the writing ever since I was 12, I fell in love with words, and I have the knack for choosing them carefully. Whether to manifest all the love from my heart that bursts forth, or to cry in despair or pain when all of it is futile, there is always the perfect string of words to capture it. And I wanted to be the one that writes it.

4. Film director, Scriptwriter, Sound editor-in-one 

I wanted to tell the story that I wrote, cast the perfect actors, tell them how to act it out, capture it on film and then finally have to do my favorite bit of all, make the soundtrack.

Sometimes I hear a song, and then write a bit of a dialogue around it. Play in my head how that song would per perfect for a particular scene. Sadly though, there are just scenes and scenes. The whole movie has yet to be glued together.

5. Café and Record/ Movie Store owner

I’d put in lots of couches people can hang out in, enjoy sips from fabulously brewed coffee, carry out conversations about movies on display, be able to play vinyl records before purchasing them, and have friends here them and share it.

I’d be the shop clerk who’d serve the people their coffee, volunteer extensive analysis of movies I’ve watched when asked, and point out the key songs used in soundtracks.

After all these are the important stuff I reckon, the music you like, the movies you like, the conversations you have, and the friends you have them with. Those are the defining points of who you are. This is the place where you could be yourself and keep your personality about you, while relaxing with a cup of coffee in hand.

Anything up there is a possibility. And I am glad am taking a bold step towards what I want to do. This is the point where I cease to call myself a Chemical Engineer. This is where I stop managing people which I have done well for years. This is the point I re-discover who I am and what makes me tick. I hope you all stick around for the ride.

I figured we only have one life to live, so it's better if we just go out there and make it happen.