Five Things About Vonjobi

I was tagged for this meme by three different bloggers in the first four days of 2007: Teacher Sol, the Lipstick Librarian and Clair. Two are Filipino, two are in the US and two are librarians—but not the same two. I also "met" two of them online before I saw them in person. And the third? I had been talking to her at a conference for quite a while before I found out she was a well-known blogger. I suppose I should also note that all three are female. There must be some profound meaning there =)

Job Market

The first thing I ever wanted to be was a Metro Aide. That was before I learned that streetsweepers don't earn much money. And so, when I was 11 years old, I told my Mom that I wanted to become a priest! But it would not be until after I graduated with a degree in management engineering, worked four years in a bank, taught high school religion in Cebu, and got accepted for an MBA at AIM, that it occurred to me that I wanted to be a librarian.

Fully Booked

I was 8 years old when I borrowed my first "adult" book—The Melted Coins by Franklin W. Dixon. From then on, I was always at the library. (One librarian couldn't believe that I could finish three Hardy Boys books in one day. What she didn't know was that I read them during breaks, in the car and even during meals.) One result of all the time I spent in the library was that I learned to find things without having to ask a librarian. And that's what I remembered when I was thinking of getting an MBA. I don't just like reading books, I enjoy looking for them, too. Besides, the MLIS was cheaper =)

Editor-itis

Now that I think about it, I was also 8 years old when a classmate of mine turned to me and asked me to correct a letter he wrote. I don't think I even knew what the word "edit" meant then, but that, I suppose, was when my editor-itis began. I would always notice when words were misspelled or punctuation marks were missing. When the opportunity arose, I started volunteering to edit publications, and even learned to lay them out and deal with printers. My sideline as a freelance book producer paid for my MLIS tuition, continues to pay for lingering expenses in Manila, and is the subject of the chapter I was invited to contribute to A Day in the Life.

Fitness First

I started working out with weights because I used to be so thin that my mother said a strong wind would be enough to knock me down. And so, when I started working, one of the first things I invested in was a gym membership. I have been at the gym or pool almost every week since then. This does not mean, however, that I am a stereotypical gym rat. While I do not drink (alcohol, coffee, softdrinks), smoke or do drugs, and cut out the fat in almost everything I eat, I don't really like vegetables or go on diets. Something others find even more puzzling is that I will spend hours at the gym, but will not walk more than two blocks unless absolutely necessary. There is a reason, of course, but no one believes me when I tell them, so I'll skip that part =)

Scarnose

I have a scar that starts at the tip of my nose and, thankfully, ends right before my right eye. Next to the drowning incident, the car accident that caused the scar was the most dangerous of the series of unfortunate events I endured as a kid. But it was more traumatic than blacking out and finding out later that I had drowned. The accident occurred because a dog suddenly ran into our car's path, and my father stepped on the brakes to avoid it. I was seated at the back, but since I was leaning forward between the two front seats (seatbelts were unheard of then), I flew to the dashboard and hit my nose on a naked, steel knob. They rushed me to the nearest hospital, but no one could operate, so I was brought to another one. Since I was too young for anesthesia, the neurosurgeon who just happened to be on duty operated with several people holding on to my arms and legs as I cried and screamed in pain.

Too much information? Blame the bloggers who tagged me =)

Next in line: Gibbs Cadiz, Ivan Chew, Paolo Manalo, Manolo Quezon, and Juned Sonido.


Category: About Vonjobi