WRITING CHALLENGE | Q&A

This or That: It’s Time to Dream, My Friends

It’s also time for random ramblings

Thank you Adrian CDTPPW for tagging me in this ToT challenge started by Karen Schwartz. It has been a while since I’ve done one of these. The last one was probably the Harry Potter edition which was really fun. The recent ones seem too personal, so I’ve skipped most of them. Thanks to everyone who tagged me, though.

I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s worth repeating that I am quite a private person on Medium. I know that some of my readers seem to believe that my work is based on my real life, but honestly most of them are fictional. I usually don’t like to correct my readers in their comments because I think it’s rude to do so.

Also, it might take away the reading experience from my readers which doesn’t seem fair to me. Imagine someone relating to your writing, and then takes the time to write a thoughtful response sharing their own story, and you go “Nah, I made this up”. I used to do that in the beginning but I’ve stopped a while ago, after a writer friend advised me that once you put your writing online, it doesn’t just belong to you anymore. I think that’s excellent advice.

So, yes, I like to be a little bit mysterious online. Why? Because it’s fun, that’s why. Don’t worry, I don’t have any skeletons in the closet. Well, not many anyway. As mentioned in my “About Me” which is pinned at the top of my stories, I like playing different characters when I write.

Obviously it also depends on the type of writing. For example, my answers below are not made up since this is a Q&A challenge. So, if you’re keen to know more about me, now is the time to do so. Alright, enough rambling — can’t believe I wrote five friggin’ paragraphs for the introduction alone! Let’s do this Q&A now! Hope you’re still here after all that rambling!

1. If they made a movie of the last dream you remember, would it be fiction or nonfiction?

Usually, I don’t recall many of my dreams, but the last one I can remember was really weird, so if they made a movie out of it, it would be fiction. In this dream, I was having lunch with a friend, and we spotted a man carrying six miniature puppies in his hands, each no bigger than his index finger. They all sported tiny red collars, and honestly resembled toy puppies. Of course, we decided to follow this man, and before long, we found ourselves standing outside a pet store.

As we entered the pet store, a strange, unsettling feeling crept over us. It seemed like any ordinary pet store, but there was a secret, hidden door that led to a laboratory. Guess what, they were conducting experiments on animals! Strange, right? Tagging Alan (AJ) Autistic Widower who has really good stories about dreams. Check out his profile!

2. Do you spend more time reimagining the past or imagining the future?

Honestly, both, but if I had to pick, I’d say I spend slightly more time reimagining the past. Regrets aren’t a part of my life, but there are moments when I wonder what might have happened if I had taken a different path.

For example, what if I had pursued a career as an accountant? It was never a personal dream, but after secondary school (that’s what we call high school), I felt a bit lost, and ended up following my friends’ choices. Most of them had big dreams of joining one of the Big 4 accounting firms, namely PWC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG. I even attended numerous talks by the Big 4, and considered becoming an auditor. It wasn’t until my third year of university that I realised I didn’t want to be an accountant, let alone work as an auditor in a high-stress environment at a Big 4 firm. I heard that most employees work overnight in the office! Anyway, it was too late to change my major, of course, so I ended up graduating with an accounting and economics degree. And just in case you’re interested to know, I’m not an accountant now. I have never actually worked as one.

As for the future, I try not to imagine it because at times, it can be rather scary. As each day passes, we draw nearer to a stage where our independence might gradually diminish. Without going into religious matters, I’m not fearful of death itself, but I am afraid of the process of dying. The idea of losing my independence one day terrifies me. And it’s not even (solely) about ageing because there are many medical conditions that can also rob a person’s quality of life, and the chances of it happening to us increase the longer we live. So, yes, I try not to think about it. Let’s move on to the next question before it gets too morbid!

3. Would you prefer to live a day in the life of a criminal lawyer or a police officer?

Definitely a criminal lawyer. I’m terrible at sports and can’t run to save my life, so I’d make a lousy police officer. I also think that a police officer is a dangerous job. Sure, I could opt to become a traffic police officer, which seems to be a safer option compared to, let’s say, a chase unit. But it would still be risky. I remember a friend of mine whose boyfriend was a traffic police officer. During a roadblock, a drunk driver crashed into the barricades; my friend’s then-boyfriend was almost killed!

When it comes to criminal law, it depends on whether I’d be defending victims or criminals. Would I set aside moral judgment for money? Probably not. So, it’s likely I wouldn’t find much success in this field.

But you know what, now that I have spent a few minutes thinking about it, being a criminal lawyer might also be dangerous. What if I were to incarcerate someone or fail to defend them, and they sought revenge against me? I realise it might sound like a scenario from a movie, but it’s not entirely impossible!

Can I change my answer? I think I’d prefer to be an auxiliary police officer. In the town where I live, I frequently see them patrolling the malls. Given my love for shopping malls, it seems like the most suitable option for me. I mean, most of the time, I only see them walking around in the mall. I love window shopping, so I could probably do that while patrolling the mall. Anyway, by now, you can probably tell that I’m not the bravest person out there. Also, I’ve just reread the question, and it only asks for “a day in the life of…” Probably didn’t need to overthink it as it is only for one day! Oh, well.

4. Are you best suited as a contestant on Jeopardy or Family Feud?

Hmm? Are these reality TV shows? I have not heard of either of them, Let me know which one you think would suit me (based on your limited knowledge of me lol).

5. If you could study cooking (all expenses paid), would it be at a cooking school in its country of origin or with a private chef in your kitchen?

This is a difficult question. Firstly, I’m not a fan of cooking, so I doubt I’d find pleasure in learning culinary skills. Secondly, I’m one of those people who love their comfort zones, so it’s highly unlikely for me to move to another country just to learn something I have no interest in.

I guess if I really have to pick one, I’d go for the private chef in my kitchen. However, I should mention that my kitchen is incredibly tiny, and I’m not even exaggerating. It’s a tight space where I can barely move around. Having another person in the kitchen would make it feel even more cramped, so I don’t know how I feel about that!

6. You wake up a superhero. Do you prefer incredible strength or invisibility?

Invisibility, of course. Having incredible strength seems rather dull to me. Being invisible would be so much more fun! For example, I could… oh, wait, I can’t tell you. Who knows, I might wake up as a superhero tomorrow, and then I’d use my invisibility superpowers to… (you can fill in the blanks).

7. You have one week to live with no family. Would you spend all your money or donate it all? (There’s no doing both!)

Only one week? I’d assume that I’m not sick. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to do much but lie in bed, waiting for death to scoop me up. In that case, I’d spend it all. Please don’t judge me. After all, I’m the one who’s dying. Why should I donate it? If I give it all away, how would I make it through my last, miserable week before my demise? Surely, I deserve a small dose of happiness before it’s all over. Once I’m gone, people can have my belongings for themselves, sell them, or do as they please.

8. You must live one year without people; would you rather spend it with dogs or cats?

Living one year without people? These two back-to-back questions are so cruel! Cats, for sure. Honestly, I’m scared of dogs, especially the big ones. Alright, fine, I’m quite scared of the small ones too. I know that some dogs are incredibly sweet. In fact, I’ve read many stories from my Medium friends about their dogs. Tagging Lu Skerdoo James Scannell Diana Pippin Grace Bianco Michael John Scott Ann James Susan Wheelock Nobbinmaug But in real life, dogs are pretty scary to me. I guess it’s because my uncle’s dog bit me when I was a kid. Well, it didn’t actually manage to bite me, but not from a lack of trying. Its jaws got hold of the hem of my long pants! Glad I didn’t wear shorts that day! I didn’t even do anything to provoke the dog. I was only walking past it!

9. Imagine you controlled the Universe, would you feed the hungry or eradicate illness?

This is a tough choice, but I’d choose to eradicate illness. While it’s true that some people live in places where the resources are so limited that they go hungry, imagine if they are both starving and sick at the same time. If you’re healthy, you at least have a fighting chance to find work and feed yourself. However, if you’re sick with a chronic illness, all the odds are stacked against you, no matter where you live.

Chronic illnesses rob people of years of their lives, and the quality of life is sometimes so poor that the patient is merely surviving, not truly living. Without revealing my actual day job, let’s just say that in my line of work, I’m constantly surrounded by death and illnesses (no, I’m not an undertaker). It has challenged my faith at times because I start to wonder about the purpose of life for those who suffer from chronic illnesses. Nevertheless, I believe that God has a plan for all of us, even if we don’t know what that plan is. Maybe I should have been an accountant instead…nah.

10. If you could choose a mentor for one year to improve your writing, would you choose an author who’s alive or dead?

I must admit, I don’t know many famous authors because, unlike many of you, I rarely read books. I used to be an avid reader in my childhood and teenage years, but as I reached adulthood, I barely picked up a book. Therefore, I can’t really answer this question. Sorry! However, I would definitely benefit from a mentor to improve my writing skills. Any volunteers? John Hansen, I am still looking for a book for your writing challenge. Hopefully, I’ll get it done by next week.

That’s all for today! This is fun, isn’t it? I’ve missed these quirky, random Q&A writing challenges. I remember they were quite trendy last year and even earlier this year, but suddenly, I haven’t seen many of them lately. There have been a few here and there, but they all seemed so serious. I can be serious too, of course, but sometimes I just want to ramble and have a casual chat with you guys, like I did in this article. I hope you enjoyed it! See you in the comments.

Here is the link to Adrian CDTPPW’s article.

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