February 9, 2011
Ramblings 2011
Throughout the day, there are many things that run through my head that I think I should write about… but funny thing is, when I actually come to this blank text field, my mind draws the same thing – a blank.
I think, right off the top of my head, I want to just put down in black and white the things I have a burning lusting need to achieve this year. I will…
- FINISH that damn book of mine by mid-year.
- take photography classes
- update/polish/craft my resume by April
- regularly get my stuff up for critique on the art site
- keep pushing the envelope for the new car account
Speaking of the new car account, the year seems to have jump-started in high gear. For one of the campaigns, we got to recce one of the most beautiful and exclusive resorts in the region, including seeing areas where only the very privileged get to. Some great print and DM work has already gone out, with more coming soon as well as digital work. It’s a dream account and I better not slack off or screw it up if I want this to be a notch in the belt of my career.
And then? Then we’ll see what happens. After reaping in the awards I’m imagining in my head. Ha-ha.
I’ve made a commitment to my physical well being. None of us are getting any younger, so it’s regular meals no matter how busy it gets at the office and no more super late nights as much as I can help it. So much easier said than done, unfortunately.
I’ve made a commitment to my mental well being. Life should be lived large without anything holding you back. So let go of resentment, bitterness, anger and sadness. Let go. Let go, let go, let go. It doesn’t mean it’s okay for people to have done/said the things they did, or how they may continue to hurt you. But you choose to live a life of love and grace. Your conscience is clear. God will give you your strength and dignity back. I believe that how much love you give to people is how much life will give back to you. Again, easier said than done.
But hey, we try and we live another day to try
February 24, 2010
Chinese New Year
It’s been a crazily humid hot one, but I enjoyed Chinese New Year. There was the usual reunion dinner with my dad alone, and then the lunch next day with my mum’s side and friends. Then the entire week had random friends and visitors and gatherings to attend. Pooch was bathed and deticked and smelt very nice for the guests 
And because of these happenings, I got to take a gazillion shots with my brand new Nikon D5000 (woohoo new toy!) and I am discovering a whole new beast in photo-editing. I’ve always had a mild curiousity to how the designers in my office execute their work with Fireworks or Photoshop… and in fact, been interested to know how they accomplish certain things so I can be more well-rounded as a creative person…but now I’m finally truly motivated to learn so I can edit the pictures I take!
[....London. Imagine the pictures I could take there. Fuck fuck fuckety fuck. This is the first time in my life I've actually felt SERIOUSLY impeded by my condition. Not even when my field of vision is buzzing with dark spots from lack of oxygen after climbing a long flight of steps and I need to stop before I totally black out....ok well, maybe those times are frustrating too, but...London!! ]
My luck seems to be turning, as may be indicated by the money I won gambling. Note the cautious words like ‘seems’ and ‘may’… I’m not going to jinx up anything here! This year will be a GOOD year, and GOOD things are going to happen. It starts with my personal interests like writing and photography, will continue to mid-year with my brother’s wedding, later on hopefully work-related trips, and then even later on the completion of my book. Yes we can!!
December 31, 2008
Bye bye 2008
This year has been something of a mixed blessing… I have struggled with doubts, my principals and ideals, lapses in judgement, loss, and an awareness of a future and fate that’s suddenly looming all too soon. But as a result, there has been personal growth, a keener sense of responsibility and a reminder that happiness isn’t something that’s neatly packaged and served on a silver platter.
Everything I have today I’ve either been blessed with or had to work for it. And work was what I pretty much did the whole year round, so much so that until mid-November I took I think just 2 1/2 days of leave. That’s kinda sad.
But it definitely paid off professionally in my first year as senior copywriter. My writing style now has much more flexibility to appeal to different people whereas before I’d struggled with mature target audiences. The improvement came with the growing up, having to read more and probably the fact that I was thrown in the deep end for the Dell account…
During my job evaluation last week, my boss told me (rather dramatically, I thought) that ‘my time has come’. He wants me to step up on the leadership role with the creative teams, make more creative decisions, get involved in more client presentations (shudder), start concerning myself with the improvement of the junior writers – basically ‘monkey see monkey do’ with the creative heads. That’s something to… ‘look forward to’… in 2009, I suppose.
On a more personal front, I guess I will keep at what I’ve always been doing when it comes to my family, or try to do it better: Keep seeing to their needs, contribute financially as much as I can, exercise patience, and don’t let my mouth just fly when I’m irritated. And show them that I care in that bashful, non-expressive way that Asian families do.
And on an even more personal front, this is what I will work on as values seem to have taken a back seat in an increasingly cold world:
- Consideration and understanding towards the people important to me
- More empathy, more effort
- To stick to and uphold my faith and principals
Lastly, because I want to, for a certain special someone:
- To always keep the channels of communication open
- Genuinely stick to working stuff out without taking the easy route
- Commit
The lack of these were pretty much the main reasons why previous relationships didn’t last. But by trusting me he’s restored faith in my ability to make things work. It’s been refreshing, like I’ve been given a clean slate and empowered to fill it with great things.
I guess that pretty much sums up what’s coming up… who knows? But carpe diem, it’s in our hands.
Have a good one tonight!
March 15, 2008
In the works…
While I’m sure the template designers for WordPress did a great job with the various default themes available, I’d love to have something cool and original… naturally, I’m enlisting the help of kind people to help me out on this, because I know nuts about designing and html and whatever it takes to make this looking decent. In the meantime, here’s Generic Template!
