I had to apologize to Dom for not attending his book launch. That was last September 27 and what happened was a classic fail.
The venue for the launch of the books of author Ma'am Jeanne Lim was in Davao Central High School (This tiny fact I only found out later). The event was to coincide with the school's homecoming. Sir Dom had given a text message before that the book launch will start at 3 in the afternoon in the Davao Chinese school.
Unfortunately, I had the erroneous idea that the Davao Chinese school is the Davao Christian High School (I honestly don't know where that notion came from). So when I arrived at the wrong school, I was inevitably greeted by the confused faces of the security guard and the janitor. To make matters worse, it started to rain really hard - the onset of Ondoy in Davao City - and I was trapped in the wrong campus for more than an hour.
After the rain stopped falling, I thanked the personnel of Davao Christian High School for their accidental hospitality and went home. I assumed that the affair was over at that point but, still, I was mentally shaking my head over what just happened.
So what made the book launch so special anyway that I felt compelled to go? Well, aside from the fact that Sir Dom, a mentor and my one-time idol, had played a huge part in the creation of Ma'am Lim's books, I also played a minor role in the making of those two books.
Sir Dom had tasked me to be one of the proofreaders and I was surprised that the job was pleasantly engaging the first time around. It was fun calling on my powers as an English major as I tried my best correcting typos and errors. I also enjoyed reading Ma'am Lim's works and I also learned a thing or two about screenplays.
But the work also had its downside. I wasn't exactly a detail-oriented person to begin with and it took a lot of effort to still be overzealous about the text after several pages. As much as the work was exhilarating, it was also quite mentally draining. And after I finished my task, I still had this nagging anxiety that I could have overlooked some mistakes in the manuscript.
Still, the bottom line was I had my fun (and now, I think I have a clearer idea why Mel loves her job so much).
A day after the launch, Sir Dom had requested that I go through the soft copies of the books once more just to give my final check. Right now, I'm still willing to do it but the thought of reading the same stories over again (no matter how good they are) is making me procastinate. Ergo, I can probably pursue proofreading as a leisurely activity but I would have to stay away from the idea of making a career out of it.
The venue for the launch of the books of author Ma'am Jeanne Lim was in Davao Central High School (This tiny fact I only found out later). The event was to coincide with the school's homecoming. Sir Dom had given a text message before that the book launch will start at 3 in the afternoon in the Davao Chinese school.
Unfortunately, I had the erroneous idea that the Davao Chinese school is the Davao Christian High School (I honestly don't know where that notion came from). So when I arrived at the wrong school, I was inevitably greeted by the confused faces of the security guard and the janitor. To make matters worse, it started to rain really hard - the onset of Ondoy in Davao City - and I was trapped in the wrong campus for more than an hour.
After the rain stopped falling, I thanked the personnel of Davao Christian High School for their accidental hospitality and went home. I assumed that the affair was over at that point but, still, I was mentally shaking my head over what just happened.
So what made the book launch so special anyway that I felt compelled to go? Well, aside from the fact that Sir Dom, a mentor and my one-time idol, had played a huge part in the creation of Ma'am Lim's books, I also played a minor role in the making of those two books.
Sir Dom had tasked me to be one of the proofreaders and I was surprised that the job was pleasantly engaging the first time around. It was fun calling on my powers as an English major as I tried my best correcting typos and errors. I also enjoyed reading Ma'am Lim's works and I also learned a thing or two about screenplays.
But the work also had its downside. I wasn't exactly a detail-oriented person to begin with and it took a lot of effort to still be overzealous about the text after several pages. As much as the work was exhilarating, it was also quite mentally draining. And after I finished my task, I still had this nagging anxiety that I could have overlooked some mistakes in the manuscript.
Still, the bottom line was I had my fun (and now, I think I have a clearer idea why Mel loves her job so much).
A day after the launch, Sir Dom had requested that I go through the soft copies of the books once more just to give my final check. Right now, I'm still willing to do it but the thought of reading the same stories over again (no matter how good they are) is making me procastinate. Ergo, I can probably pursue proofreading as a leisurely activity but I would have to stay away from the idea of making a career out of it.
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