ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR JOB?
How did my parents endure working almost forty years at the same job? How did they endure going through the same mundane routine every single day? How did they...? I guess they did it for the family, for my sister and for me. They did it because they didn't have the luxury of choosing their jobs.
Education is truly the key out of poverty and to progress and personal fulfillment. I am glad they did all they could to give me the chance to be educated - newfound respect and gratitude... And MAYBE, they managed to endure the mundane because their jobs do not define who they are. Their lives and their family do. The fear of going through the same old routine for the next 4 decades of my life scares me.
I do not regret my current job. In fact, I'm glad that I was given the chance and that I joined a small local setup and made the choice to enter an industry that I had always been curious about. Despite the relatively low pay, the constant "OT", some ridiculous restrictions at work, the sad truth about my company's "(un)creative" advertising strategies and my objection to some of my boss' plans for the company - the past year had been a great learning experience. At least I didnt' allow societal norms and other people's comments to dissuade me from trying it out. This job gave me considerable freedom to make many decisions on my own and to do things the way I want it. I'm going to miss that...
I just find that slowly... I'm beginning to lose a sense of who I am and I can't allow my job to define who I am. Life can't just be about work - at least that's my mindset for now. At 26, I feel that I need to venture out. I feel that I'm already lagging behind my peers. I need to see what is out there. I need to experience more. I need some time to find myself again.
I guess it's time to move on now... Or to slow down.... Or to redefine who I am... Whatever you call it.... Whatever happens, happens. Cheers to the surprises that tomorrow brings!
Poor Me - A Chinese Bastard
Can't believe someone just f***ed me on my own blog and called me a "Chinese Bastard".
Whoever you are - DUDE - I feel sorry for you... But if lashing out vulgarities at me online makes you feel better and more pyschologically "balanced" in the real world, then so be it. My sympathies for you.
我为你祈祷。。。
25岁单身王老五的人生观
最近，总觉得自己好空虚、寂默。我本以为我寂默惯了，就算一人独处也没关系。 但是， 渐渐地， 我发觉我可能永远都不会习惯或享受寂默独处的感觉。
生命的意义是什么？除了工作， 我好象什么都没有了。就算是在事业的道路上，我也走得很迷惘， 似乎迷失了方向。这可能就是我怀念校园生活的原因。 学生时代的我好象拥有更多， 希望也更大。 渐渐地，希望好象一一破灭。
朋友也都“长大”了， 都在为自己的将来冲刺， 为自己的幸福规划。朋友也只（能〕是朋友， 能放在你身上的时间和心思只能那么多， 而这时间和心思务必会随着时间而减少。朋友啊。。。
25岁的我再也不能对身边的一切视而不见。 姐姐已结婚生子，成家立业了。 我还能放任自己幼稚下去吗？这社会能接收幼稚的我吗？看着40多岁的同事孤家寡人， 心里难免有点惶恐， 害怕自己落得同样下场。 这不代表我对“孤家寡人”有任何主观的意见。这是个人选择。 但这不是我想要的未来。可是，我适合除了“一人独处”以外的生活模式吗？我能想象60多岁而单身的我是个变态的独居老人。其实，这画面还蛮好笑的。
到头来，人与人之间就只是利益关系吗？
我能达到的， 我不想要。 我想达到的却永远离我那么遥远。我可能就是那么喜欢折磨自己。离变态老人的目标不遥远了。。。
我现在最需要的是解放！我不要悲观！
黑色幽默
词/曲： 周杰伦
难过 是因为闷了很久
是因为想了太多
是心理起了作用
你说 苦笑常常陪著你
在一起有点勉强
该不该现在休了我
不想太多 我想一定是我听错弄错搞错
拜托 我想是你的脑袋有问题
随便说说 其实我早已经猜透看透不想多说
只是我怕眼泪撑不住
不懂 你的黑色幽默
想通 却又再考倒我
说散 你想很久了吧
我不想拆穿你
当作 是你开的玩笑
想通 却又再考倒我
说散 你想很久了吧
败给你的黑色幽默
黑色幽默 － Still my favourite Jay Chou track. This song hits a chord so directly. Not as pretentious as some of his later works.
人生不就充满着黑色幽默，让人哭笑不得。就算笑，也不免感到愧疚自己。
当你开的玩笑，我已不能乐在其中。当笑话建筑在我的痛苦上，一切再也不是一个幽默的笑话。不好笑， 也不好玩。
07' A year of transitions
It's 2008. Time to get a grip of my life... Feel that I'm starting to lose the plot.
2007 has been a year of transitions (for better or for worse):Student TO Working "Adult"
Brother TO "Uncle" of my sister's newborn
Friend to my friends TO friend to my friends who are newly-weds
Skinny TO Skinnier Still
The Status Quo?:Single, Singler, Singlest
Attended 2 weddings towards the end of '07 - Kartik's Big Fat Indian Wedding and Wenfu's Sweert Holy Matrimony. There goes two big fat ang-baos out of the window. Despite that cynical comment, my sincere and best wishes to the new couples.
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Kartik and his bride
Traditional ceremony held at Sri Mariamman Temple
Didn't bring my camera to Wenfu's wedding. But you can imagine one of those saccharine sweet weddings - flowers, photo collage, video, groom serenaing the bride, kisses, etc... Was a good chance to catch up with old classmates. We could also eat without reservations, unlike one of those awkward wedding dinners where everyone is a stranger at the table.
The biggest turning point - I became an UNCLE on Nov 30th 2007. My niece turned one-month old last weekend.
My precious niece, Glynys, who was oblivious to the preparations that were going on around her.
She got the entire family excited about life again... Thank you for coming into our lives.
As for the last day of 2007, Thanks to those who were there with me. You know who you are.
OK. Feeling kinda tired. Till the next blog...
花好月圆
十五的月亮哪有十六的圆。
好美的月， 好美的夜。
What's a "good" career option?
Over the weekend, the "career" issue popped up again. Again, I had people questioning my decision to join this local ,"unknown" advertising firm, located at the other end of the island, which pays me peanuts, no OT pay, requires long hours of work (includes working one Saturday every month) and have close to zero employee welfare/ benefits. I had convinced myself in the beginning that advertising was where my passion lies, and that my current job would equip me with the right tools for a successful career in advertising and eventually a jump to the big boys - leading to international exposure etc - and eventually leading to the big bucks. I was willing to forsake all practicalities for now, for the pursuit of passion. I thought it was a very brave and "unSingaporean" thing to do. I felt so gungho, felt like a rebel that's so lacking in Singapore nowadays.
But suddenly, a part of me feels otherwise now. I feel drained. A point where passion no longer suffice, where practicality and the need to make a practical career choice sets in. Where am I heading in this? I want to be somewhere where I hit 35. I need to know where I'm heading. Why did I study so many years for? I am having doubts about my so-called "creativity" when my ideas don't seem to sit well with my boss - "Your idea is not bad, but it won't sell..." Maybe I ain't as "creative" as I think I am and maybe I just don't cut it in this business. Maybe I have all these crazy ideas that just won't work. Or maybe, this is just the wrong company to work for. Suddenly, it doesn't seem that worth it to pursue this passion when my idea of creative advertising just doesn't seem to apply locally.
It isn't the first time that the boss asks for our opinions but end up doing what he had intended to in the first place. You give him 101 million suggestions and he ends up deciding on his own initial idea. He is a marketing person more than an advertising person. And that's the way he runs his business. No marketing angle? - then the creative idea is useless. And he always thinks he knows better - which can be sickeningly true most of the time. Creativity is side-stepped if it means too much time, too much effort, too little profit. The preferred mode is cut-and-paste techniques that saves time, reduces effort and churns out results. It's not to say that there's no creative freedom at all. But it's always an uphill task convincing the boss about the idea behind the concept and why it will work - most of the time it gets thrown out of the window. That's the truth about local advertising - copy & paste, safe, or simply just doing layout for ideas conceptualized overseas. Or maybe I just need more exposure to know if it's like this everywhere...
But still, there are aspects of the job that keeps me going. I love it when I come up with ideas that I think are fantastic and are eventually chosen. It always good to see your ideas become reality and seeing the end product does give you a sense of satisfaction. But a career as an account exec? -- I'm not so sure about that anymore. As I progress, I'm sure I'll be pulled out of creative conceptualisation and have more direct dealings with clients. I think I prefer the creative side of advertising.
Sometimes, I can be quite insistent but I find myself losing that determination to pitch for my ideas because it just means OT and anyway my boss ends up using his own idea at the end of the day. I also find myself losing "creativity" because I have no time for a "proper" life. How can you have creativity when you don't have a life? A vicious cycle - no life - no creativity - cut and paste advertising.
I choose to think that my command of language is way better than my boss' (not that mine very powderful, just that his is not bery good lah). It's always a struggle when he tells you that your tagline doesn't capture the essence and he ends up writing something that sounds way off and grammatically unsound. At that moment, the only thought that pops up in my head is "WTF!"
The TVC production held on Tuesday was the saving grace of the week. Really enjoyed getting involved in the production. But I was made to leave the film set halfway because my boss wanted me to go back to the office to "coordinate stuff". Felt that I was short-changed of a full TVC production experience - from conceptualisation to post-production. I was included and left-out, as and when he felt it wasn't "necessary" for me to be there at that point in time.
OK lah. See how the week goes lah. Have so much more to whine about lah. Hope this will be a better week than the last lah.
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