Linger

She came into my life when I was still in college, right after I finished my relationship with the one before her. It’s just fair to admit that I’ve been thinking of C ever since I laid my eyes on her, when I saw her in an exhibition in PS. Yes, I was still in a relationship then.

We spent 5 wonderful years together. My parents never said anything bad about her. My sisters were very fond of her. And when I introduced her to my friends, they always go “ooohhh and aaaaah” at her.

But right after 4 years, she began to show some health problems. My parents tried to divert my attention to another sweetheart. Yes, it was mean, and I didn’t think it was fair, since she had been very faithful and nice to me. I didn’t care she was sick. But what the hell did I know? My friends gave me their 2 cents, most didn’t agree of what my parents were thinking. But it just happened. A family friend, who happened to work for a major automotive company, told my parents that he was going to bring a new lady to my attention, and affection. Believing that he meant no harm, I accepted the offer. All my best wishes to C, for I hope she found someone who might treat her well with her sickness. Doing so, I welcomed Y into my life. And at that particular time, I felt as guilty as Cain.

Things weren’t as smooth with Y as they were before. I had fun with her only on the early weeks of our relationship. I must say that I missed C. C stayed in my mind like the lingering smell of piss long after it had evaporated. Well, maybe not exactly so. It’s amazing how music and smell can bring back images back into your head. Every time I hear The Free Design’s Kites Are Fun, memories of C came back to me, for it was with her that I heard the song for the 1^st time.

To be honest, I can’t mention a single thing that Y has better than C does, except the fact that Y is smaller than C and that suits me better. I understand that I’ve made a decision and I can’t go back. Not even when C has the better of everything. Oh Lord, here I go again.

Dear readers, if you have a similar story with mine, do make sure that you understand the risk you’re going to face when you want to jeopardize what you have with what you’re going to have. In most cases, all 5 senses will go blind and you’ll just have a go at something newer. My parents now realized this, and they’re sorry.

Deciding which to choose between C and Y was one of my biggest mistakes. However unfair it is for Y, I have to admit this.

Honda Civic, I’m sorry I had let you go for a Toyota Yaris

…I really am

From Nothing To Advertising

I have always had a thing for advertising. When I was a lot younger, my father was a subscriber of TIME magazines. And my older sister, of course, like the rest of the flock her age that time, never missed a single edition of seventeen. What I liked most from those magazines were the ads in them. I spent vast amount of times studying the harmony of the copy and image in the ads, and admiring the ideas that fueled such ads. I still do such a thing up to now. Of course, my current selections have a wider range than the likes of seventeen. I’ve also developed a collection of gigabytes of downloaded TV ads.

Being an ignorant brat, I never had the idea of subscribing into more advertising material major in college. All I knew was that advertising was merely a hobby. Naturally, after graduating, I ended up being an AE in a non-ad-related company. Even when I resigned from that company, I ended up working in another non-ad-related one. Then it hit me, after more than 3 years of half-hearted working, that I didn’t enjoy what I was doing then. Of course, as an AE I enjoyed meeting new people, bla bla bla. But I didn’t like the industry I was in. Consultations with friends, asking some “what-if”s about my chance of applying to advertising industry resulted in some confidence degradation. Mine. They told me that it would be very difficult to be accepted in a good ad agency if you don’t have any agency background. Or you’ll have to start from the very beginning, as a trainee. Well, I was willing to settle for less payment or lower position, but by the age of 27, you wouldn’t want to be a trainee.

Determined to try my luck, I did apply to some agencies, big, medium and small ones. All said no. Either it was that I lacked of the character they were looking for in a candidate, or that they were having zero recruitment, OR, that I didn’t have any agency background. The mantra.

However, less than a month ago, an agency called and asked me for an interview session. Good thing people in this company don’t care about prior experience as much as those in other agencies do (though I can’t blame them for having such a thought. It’s just natural). I spoke with the HR director, and all she ever cared in people she recruit were their passion about advertising, people-skill, and properly functioning right and left brain (doesn’t matter which side dominates which, depending on the position applied). 3 interviews undergone (the furthest step I’ve ever been involved with an agency), and they handed me a contract letter saying I’ll be starting by Sept 1^st. As my pen was put to the paper, a dream has also been fulfilled. My agency background is going from zero to leo.

So, to whoever thinking of switching jobs to a different role, to abroad, to a different industry, or simply having a dream, don’t let naysayers bully you by saying you can’t do it, or you’re just to old to start over, or you’re too young, or you simply doesn’t fit. Atomic bombs, planes, electricity, and computers are things that were first built by ideas.

“…everything is just an imagination away…”

PS: the switch punished me with a decrease in both financial matter, and position in the corporate hierarchy. But hey, an arrow has to be pulled to gather power before it can blast in full speed ahead, perfectly aimed to target