On the first of this month, I posted something about chop suey. It was about a short write up I made for a local paper and my fear that it won’t get printed. Last Wednesday, my girlfriend called me and asked why am I in the paper. My face, name and thoughts got printed after all. And here is part of the paper’s page.
I’m going to point out four things about the print. First and the least of my concerns is that I am the oldest of the four people featured. Second, (this is quite something because it involves a legal document) my name’s misspelled. There is supposed to be a hyphen between Andre and Paul. If you think my name is weird, blame my dad.
If you have noticed, I am the only one who is making sense. And that is my third point. Well actually, my girlfriend pointed this out to me over the phone when she called. She even said my write-up was well written. And that was the first time she appreciated the way I write (but she appreciates some of my “pluses”; besides, I am not good at writing anyway… hehehe…).
And lastly, I would like to stress out that what was printed in the paper is not exactly as I wrote it. They edited it. I don’t mind if people edit my work as long as the essence, the soul of the prose, is not lost in the process. This is how it reads in the paper:
Chop suey! Honestly, I hated vegetables when I was a kid. Now, I like chop suey because it pretty much has everything in it. It is my way of making up for all the good stuff I’ve missed. It allows me to reflect on life. A spoon full of chop sues gives you random vegetables. Life, on the other hand, gives us random things at any given moment. We just have to realize that all these things can work harmoniously for good. The vegetables and spices in a bowl of chop suey are a delicious treat.
Notice that it started out pretty good. But at the end, it got messed up (please read my July 1 post for comparison). In my “manuscript” (hehe) the last sentence was supposed to be the most meaningful. In the print, they split it into two and the relation between a bowl of chop suey and life itself can not be read.
One writer said that writers write while editors ruin their work. Maybe he is right. And I am not a writer so it's all good... hehehe...
But nevertheless, I am quite happy that my thoughts have been heard (or printed and then read).
I’m going to point out four things about the print. First and the least of my concerns is that I am the oldest of the four people featured. Second, (this is quite something because it involves a legal document) my name’s misspelled. There is supposed to be a hyphen between Andre and Paul. If you think my name is weird, blame my dad.
If you have noticed, I am the only one who is making sense. And that is my third point. Well actually, my girlfriend pointed this out to me over the phone when she called. She even said my write-up was well written. And that was the first time she appreciated the way I write (but she appreciates some of my “pluses”; besides, I am not good at writing anyway… hehehe…).
And lastly, I would like to stress out that what was printed in the paper is not exactly as I wrote it. They edited it. I don’t mind if people edit my work as long as the essence, the soul of the prose, is not lost in the process. This is how it reads in the paper:
Chop suey! Honestly, I hated vegetables when I was a kid. Now, I like chop suey because it pretty much has everything in it. It is my way of making up for all the good stuff I’ve missed. It allows me to reflect on life. A spoon full of chop sues gives you random vegetables. Life, on the other hand, gives us random things at any given moment. We just have to realize that all these things can work harmoniously for good. The vegetables and spices in a bowl of chop suey are a delicious treat.
Notice that it started out pretty good. But at the end, it got messed up (please read my July 1 post for comparison). In my “manuscript” (hehe) the last sentence was supposed to be the most meaningful. In the print, they split it into two and the relation between a bowl of chop suey and life itself can not be read.
One writer said that writers write while editors ruin their work. Maybe he is right. And I am not a writer so it's all good... hehehe...
But nevertheless, I am quite happy that my thoughts have been heard (or printed and then read).