Dropout and Proud, The Autodidactic Polymath

   My life changed every five years or so like clockwork.  I was a Media Representative selling television show spots and newspaper advertising space for 5 years.
   Then, I was a public transport operator.  It started when I bought a beat up 45-seater mini-bus with no franchise.  That’s called colorum, a slang for illegal public land transport in the Philippines.  I went to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).  I got my bus a franchise to run legally.  It plied the Cavite City to Baclaran route.  Eventually, I got tired of owning a vehicle I couldn’t drive.  It was too big for little bitty me.  
   I sold the bus and bought a pre-owned 1990 Nissan Sentra and got it a franchise to run as a taxi cab.  Two years later, car brands gave an offer I couldn’t refuse, PHP50K downpayment for a brand new unit.  I sold the Nissan Sentra for PHP150K and put a down on one Toyota Corolla, one Mitsubishi Lancer and one Nissan Sentra Series 3.  I got all three new cars a franchise to run as taxi cabs.  I paid the car loans with the income.  That business was a great ride but then personal computers became more affordable.  
   After 5 years, I sold the taxi units and bought a Macintosh because my multimedia designer son, Chris told me the MAC was idiot friendly.  I taught myself the office applications.  The MAC had an encyclopedia installed in it.  I was living next to a university so I thought of putting my MAC into business by doing term papers for PHP200 fully printed ready for submission.  A year later I realized I’ve gotten good enough for an administrative job.
Ayala Avenue, Makati City
From: wikimedia.org   After 2 short stints in small companies as Administrative Assistant, I was ready for an Ayala Avenue office.  There I went from Administrative Assistant to Administrative Manager in two years.  I loved it there.  I stayed for 8 years until an opportunity to come to America dropped on my lap.
Loretto, KY, From: wikimedia.org   I flew to a small county called Loretto, Kentucky, population 623, all white.  I was probably the first Asian they ever saw.  A friend said I was brave.  My second job in Kentucky was Executive Assistant to the Retail Executive of a bank in the city of Louisville.  That job lasted for 4 years. Louisville, KY
From: wikimedia.org   All the above mentioned experiences are not rocket science but when I heard my father say “my daughter can do anything she puts her mind to,” I felt like I won a Pulitzer.  
   Someone said I must be a genius.  Another said I’m just restless and reckless.  I thought I was psycho, until I found this term: Autodidact Polymath, a self-taught person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas.  “An autodidact may or may not have formal education,” (Wikipedia) They are mostly dropouts like me.
   I have never in my life pretended to have a diploma, which is easily faked.  I’m not a genius, just an Autodidactic Polymath and my father is proud of me.
See also:A Filipina's View of Rural KentuckyBonifacio, Erap and Gov. Vilma Santos Loving the Job