so. this week i fucked up at work and i got the shit kicked out of me by my superior. he didnt really yell, or beat me, he was just stern and disappointed. after hearing what he said to me, i felt like a retard.
so i moped a bit, and he could tell i was moping, so he said "dont just fucking mope, dont tell me you'll fix it, just do it." by no means am i complaining about my boss. i deserved a verbal beating. sadly im the type that learns through mistakes. at the very least i know i wont fuck up again.
to be honest i think i take criticism quite well, but it still makes me a little sad :<
so apparently im not in the working mans mindset yet, im still an adolescent. im not exactly young, im just new to being employed in a real fucking job. interns are allowed to fuck up, theyre just kids, but im not a fucking intern anymore. my life thus far has been too pampered, i need to set my priorities straight... i have this job and now i need to make an effort to keep it. sorry gf, you gonna have to come second in my life. a close second... lol
Thursday 24 November 2011
Tuesday 8 November 2011
shanghai vs hongkong: the not so obvious differences
FIRST OF ALL, a quick summary of what iv been up to in shanghai :)
worked at ZIXAG as a temp salesperson for a few days. that was fun.
started day 1 at Razorfish yesterday, it is now the end of day 2.
back to the main topic. again this is just my personal opinion. dont hate.
like many other cities, there is a large gap between the rich and the poor, which side is the majority i am not too sure. but the point is that it leads to a very uneven living for middle people like me who are used to the high (yet common) standard of services in HK and stuck with the shitty standards of Shanghai. of course there is a nice place for every shithole in Shanghai, but the middle ground is too unstable :<
cleanliness i dont really have to talk about.
HK = hygienic, Shanghai = dirty
HK = polluted = Shanghai
HK = Shanghai? hygienic = dirty? nevermind..
most people would think that Shanghai (or Mainland China in general) has more assholes than HK. this is true in the sense that China has more of everything than HK cause HK is fucking tiny compared to it. nevermind. lets talk in terms of ratio, between assholes and non-assholes. in Shanghai there are lots of people who dont give a shit about others, but there are JUST AS MANY in HK. the only difference is HK has regulation and Shanghai does not. if not for the strict standards of HK regulation and whatnot, the true nature of HKers will come out and people will realize HK people arent really that much nicer.
last but definitely not least, lets talk about the honeys. the stereotypes are basically the same in both places. golddiggers, materialistic, brandwhores, etc. again, just stereotypes. though it is kinda true (LOL). the majority of Shanghai girls that guys meet are girls they meet at trashy clubs. obviously youre not gonna meet the nicest girls there.. thus a dirty stereotype is formed. my point being, stereotypes are stereotypes. in these few days iv met plenty of nice shanghai girls who arent totally into me just cause im from HK (and cause HK people are rich duh), then again i am dashingly good looking so most guys cant really relate to me. AHEM. yes. lets end on that note.
worked at ZIXAG as a temp salesperson for a few days. that was fun.
started day 1 at Razorfish yesterday, it is now the end of day 2.
back to the main topic. again this is just my personal opinion. dont hate.
like many other cities, there is a large gap between the rich and the poor, which side is the majority i am not too sure. but the point is that it leads to a very uneven living for middle people like me who are used to the high (yet common) standard of services in HK and stuck with the shitty standards of Shanghai. of course there is a nice place for every shithole in Shanghai, but the middle ground is too unstable :<
cleanliness i dont really have to talk about.
HK = hygienic, Shanghai = dirty
HK = polluted = Shanghai
HK = Shanghai? hygienic = dirty? nevermind..
most people would think that Shanghai (or Mainland China in general) has more assholes than HK. this is true in the sense that China has more of everything than HK cause HK is fucking tiny compared to it. nevermind. lets talk in terms of ratio, between assholes and non-assholes. in Shanghai there are lots of people who dont give a shit about others, but there are JUST AS MANY in HK. the only difference is HK has regulation and Shanghai does not. if not for the strict standards of HK regulation and whatnot, the true nature of HKers will come out and people will realize HK people arent really that much nicer.
last but definitely not least, lets talk about the honeys. the stereotypes are basically the same in both places. golddiggers, materialistic, brandwhores, etc. again, just stereotypes. though it is kinda true (LOL). the majority of Shanghai girls that guys meet are girls they meet at trashy clubs. obviously youre not gonna meet the nicest girls there.. thus a dirty stereotype is formed. my point being, stereotypes are stereotypes. in these few days iv met plenty of nice shanghai girls who arent totally into me just cause im from HK (and cause HK people are rich duh), then again i am dashingly good looking so most guys cant really relate to me. AHEM. yes. lets end on that note.
Sunday 16 October 2011
fashion time!
working as free labor these few days to help supervise a fashion event organized by TBWA\AUDITOIRE.
today was day 1 (8am-8am next day, 24 hour work day). watched an empty exhibition hall turn into a catwalk stage, well half of the building process. i'll be going back for final completion from 6-8am tomorrow morning.
day 2 tomorrow will start at 9am, an hour after the end of day 1.. glad im only part time helping. anyways tomorrow is rehearsal day. not sure what it is i'll be doing, probably just ogling at the models.
day 3 and 4 are the days of the event, i just go on standby to make sure everything goes smoothly..
oh did i mention its a lingerie fashion show? XD
today was day 1 (8am-8am next day, 24 hour work day). watched an empty exhibition hall turn into a catwalk stage, well half of the building process. i'll be going back for final completion from 6-8am tomorrow morning.
day 2 tomorrow will start at 9am, an hour after the end of day 1.. glad im only part time helping. anyways tomorrow is rehearsal day. not sure what it is i'll be doing, probably just ogling at the models.
day 3 and 4 are the days of the event, i just go on standby to make sure everything goes smoothly..
oh did i mention its a lingerie fashion show? XD
Wednesday 12 October 2011
games development pt1
so like i said in my last post, i had a chance to meet James Jen, president of TipCat. they develop and produce some games for mobile or online platforms.
to start with, i know i have an interest in the games industry. so james asked me, "what do you want to do?" a very easy question, but i had no idea how to answer. i love everything about the games i play and want to be in every part of their creation, except for back end production. doing back end work is tedious, requires knowledge and training which i dont have (and dont want to waste effort learning), not to mention it doesnt pay very well. creative thinking is where all the moneys at, but is that what i want to do? perhaps.
so james saw me struggling to answer his o-so-simple question and asked me something else, "what kind of games do you want to work with?" like which platform, or what genre i like. still, i really didnt know! i now i realize that "i want to do it all!" is not an acceptable answer. development and production varies greatly between genres and platforms.. GREATLY. theres no way you can work in multiple genres effectively, unless youre some kind of creative genius.
after some thought, i know how i can answer his first question. what i love about games is how they implement gameplay into just about anything, and most importantly make it fun at the same time.
for instance how developers can take a story element and convert it into an aspect of gameplay. heres an easy example: Assassins Creed. you play as Altair, legendary assassin. he has all the best equipment, ability, everything an assassin needs. so the player starts the game and has everything he/she needs, making the beginning VERY easy, and that is exactly what developers wanted. to introduce a new game style and ease the player into it, essentially a tutorial. story wise Altair fucks up in the end of the tutorial and gets stripped of his rank, removing all his high tier equipment. now Altair is basically an amateur and has to regain his rank, slowly unlocking his lost privileges while doing so. this way the protagonist also relates more to the player, making it more attractive (in some cases). and who doesnt love the sense of achievement whenever you unlock some awesome new gear.
its these kind of concepts that i want to be a part of. it may sound simple but it must have taken some effort to come upon.
so i now have a better idea of what i would like to do, i just need to pick a platform to dive into. i'll find james and have another chat with him one day to see if we can work something out. more to come in pt2. maybe.
[edit] there will be no part 2.
to start with, i know i have an interest in the games industry. so james asked me, "what do you want to do?" a very easy question, but i had no idea how to answer. i love everything about the games i play and want to be in every part of their creation, except for back end production. doing back end work is tedious, requires knowledge and training which i dont have (and dont want to waste effort learning), not to mention it doesnt pay very well. creative thinking is where all the moneys at, but is that what i want to do? perhaps.
so james saw me struggling to answer his o-so-simple question and asked me something else, "what kind of games do you want to work with?" like which platform, or what genre i like. still, i really didnt know! i now i realize that "i want to do it all!" is not an acceptable answer. development and production varies greatly between genres and platforms.. GREATLY. theres no way you can work in multiple genres effectively, unless youre some kind of creative genius.
after some thought, i know how i can answer his first question. what i love about games is how they implement gameplay into just about anything, and most importantly make it fun at the same time.
for instance how developers can take a story element and convert it into an aspect of gameplay. heres an easy example: Assassins Creed. you play as Altair, legendary assassin. he has all the best equipment, ability, everything an assassin needs. so the player starts the game and has everything he/she needs, making the beginning VERY easy, and that is exactly what developers wanted. to introduce a new game style and ease the player into it, essentially a tutorial. story wise Altair fucks up in the end of the tutorial and gets stripped of his rank, removing all his high tier equipment. now Altair is basically an amateur and has to regain his rank, slowly unlocking his lost privileges while doing so. this way the protagonist also relates more to the player, making it more attractive (in some cases). and who doesnt love the sense of achievement whenever you unlock some awesome new gear.
its these kind of concepts that i want to be a part of. it may sound simple but it must have taken some effort to come upon.
so i now have a better idea of what i would like to do, i just need to pick a platform to dive into. i'll find james and have another chat with him one day to see if we can work something out. more to come in pt2. maybe.
[edit] there will be no part 2.
arrival at shanghai
this is my second time traveling to shanghai, but this time will be very different from my first trip here. this time im here for the long haul looking for a job.
while i was floating around in hk i was pretty sure i wanted to get back into an ad agency, but i was unsure which department i wanted to goto, or what kind of work id be interested in, though i had a general idea. my uncle (gm of Integer in shanghai) has been kind enough to let me shadow him around the office here in shanghai. with the new insight iv gained from seeing things in his perspective, i think i now have a better idea of what it is exactly people do here and what it is i want to do. more on this, maybe for another day.
in other news, iv met a lot of new people here, one in particular, James Jen, president of TipCat. we had a chat concerning the games industry in shanghai, how it differs from the rest of the world, and how development varies largely between genres and platforms. i'll save this for another blog too, perhaps tomorrow.
from now on i'll make an effort to post serious blogs with real opinions on stuff that actually matters, at least to some people. it will inevitably still contain a bullshit blog here and there, but at least now there will be something worth reading amongst all the crap. also might have to renovate the look.. plain and simple is easy and relaxing sure, but its getting boring to look at.. so, look forward to my revamped blog, coming soon!
while i was floating around in hk i was pretty sure i wanted to get back into an ad agency, but i was unsure which department i wanted to goto, or what kind of work id be interested in, though i had a general idea. my uncle (gm of Integer in shanghai) has been kind enough to let me shadow him around the office here in shanghai. with the new insight iv gained from seeing things in his perspective, i think i now have a better idea of what it is exactly people do here and what it is i want to do. more on this, maybe for another day.
in other news, iv met a lot of new people here, one in particular, James Jen, president of TipCat. we had a chat concerning the games industry in shanghai, how it differs from the rest of the world, and how development varies largely between genres and platforms. i'll save this for another blog too, perhaps tomorrow.
from now on i'll make an effort to post serious blogs with real opinions on stuff that actually matters, at least to some people. it will inevitably still contain a bullshit blog here and there, but at least now there will be something worth reading amongst all the crap. also might have to renovate the look.. plain and simple is easy and relaxing sure, but its getting boring to look at.. so, look forward to my revamped blog, coming soon!
Tuesday 27 September 2011
with great expectations, comes great disappointment.
a little spin on the almighty spiderman quote, just to relate more to how things are going right now for me. i tend to have high expectations in all the wrong times.
i got a call from my old workplace with a possible opportunity for a new contract. this was about a month ago and things have not progressed much. they made it sound like i would be a great help and they really needed me back, made me feel really good about myself and somewhat confident id get the contract. turns out im not that valuable to them after all, or theyre just too stingy to hire me full-time. this is life, big time agencies dont have time or resources to care about people like me. regardless, i was still pretty fucking disappointed.
so now i continue to wait while applying other jobs and working on my freelance projects.
as a side note, my right wrist has been sore for the past few weeks and its only been regressing in condition. so much for healing on its own. now its at a point where using the mouse is really uncomfortable, which isnt very convenient considering a large portion of my work is done with the mouse. oh well... TO THE HOSPITAL!
i got a call from my old workplace with a possible opportunity for a new contract. this was about a month ago and things have not progressed much. they made it sound like i would be a great help and they really needed me back, made me feel really good about myself and somewhat confident id get the contract. turns out im not that valuable to them after all, or theyre just too stingy to hire me full-time. this is life, big time agencies dont have time or resources to care about people like me. regardless, i was still pretty fucking disappointed.
so now i continue to wait while applying other jobs and working on my freelance projects.
as a side note, my right wrist has been sore for the past few weeks and its only been regressing in condition. so much for healing on its own. now its at a point where using the mouse is really uncomfortable, which isnt very convenient considering a large portion of my work is done with the mouse. oh well... TO THE HOSPITAL!
Sunday 4 September 2011
Update On Me
To start things off, i am currently a freelance web designer. I find clients through friends and ads who need some kind of digital design done. I started pretty much as soon as my contract with TBWA ended. So last week my friend told me that as a freelancer i should make a blog on the work ive done, then i realized i already have a blog rotting away in the back of the internet, so here i am, updating away.
In my time as a freelancer ive worked with Handsome Bag Co to help revamp their webpage, it was a fairoy short contract seeing as i wasnt involved in any back end work. Either way it was still enjoyable. Right now im helping a friend at ETON upgrade the company webpage to integrate Flash interaction. Unfortunately my laptop has stopped working so that contract has been frozen for now..
Aside from the more serious clientele work, i do small favors on the side, like making logos for friends and such things. Whether or not i post any of the work ive done here, i'll think about it later. Im quite tired from typing on my phone so i'll end my post for today here.
In my time as a freelancer ive worked with Handsome Bag Co to help revamp their webpage, it was a fairoy short contract seeing as i wasnt involved in any back end work. Either way it was still enjoyable. Right now im helping a friend at ETON upgrade the company webpage to integrate Flash interaction. Unfortunately my laptop has stopped working so that contract has been frozen for now..
Aside from the more serious clientele work, i do small favors on the side, like making logos for friends and such things. Whether or not i post any of the work ive done here, i'll think about it later. Im quite tired from typing on my phone so i'll end my post for today here.
Monday 21 March 2011
gist of what im doing now with TBWA
so i been having a lot of late nights at work these past few days.
somewhere along the line of production there is bound to be some hiccup that delays the process. in the end the most pressure is on the end of the production line, where final quality checks are made between production, account execs, and the client. so it was pretty tough for me, but we pulled through! what im doing is im pretty much making digital ads, the ones that appear on the internet. i do some other stuff as well, like making layouts and a little bit of creative work.
cant wait to start full time, get some real salary. internship rates suck, i dont blame them for being stingy, everyones gotta make a living. but damn, im barely breaking even right now. fuck. well at least im getting a good glimpse of whats going on. about 2 more months to go, who knows, maybe i can shorten the trial period and get in on the real deal sooner. fingers crossed...
somewhere along the line of production there is bound to be some hiccup that delays the process. in the end the most pressure is on the end of the production line, where final quality checks are made between production, account execs, and the client. so it was pretty tough for me, but we pulled through! what im doing is im pretty much making digital ads, the ones that appear on the internet. i do some other stuff as well, like making layouts and a little bit of creative work.
cant wait to start full time, get some real salary. internship rates suck, i dont blame them for being stingy, everyones gotta make a living. but damn, im barely breaking even right now. fuck. well at least im getting a good glimpse of whats going on. about 2 more months to go, who knows, maybe i can shorten the trial period and get in on the real deal sooner. fingers crossed...
Wednesday 23 February 2011
back to hong kong
this will be my last week working in China, it's been about 5 months and im still not sure what my position here should be called.. clerk i guess.
starting March 1st i will be working for TBWA//Tequila in Hong Kong, an advertising company. i'll be starting off as an intern for 3 months to get to grips with the industry and hopefully after that i can start full-time. in advertising there's plenty of work to do, be it creativity, digital, marketing, and some other stuff. as an intern i'll be checking out accounts, creative, and production, all of which sound like something i can do. look forward to future posts where i'll share my experiences as an advertising industry intern :)
though iv made plenty of complaints about my life in China these past few months, im grateful to my uncle for taking me in and giving me an insight to work life around here. it's a shame all the shoe vocabulary i learned isn't gonna be much use anywhere else haha...
starting March 1st i will be working for TBWA//Tequila in Hong Kong, an advertising company. i'll be starting off as an intern for 3 months to get to grips with the industry and hopefully after that i can start full-time. in advertising there's plenty of work to do, be it creativity, digital, marketing, and some other stuff. as an intern i'll be checking out accounts, creative, and production, all of which sound like something i can do. look forward to future posts where i'll share my experiences as an advertising industry intern :)
though iv made plenty of complaints about my life in China these past few months, im grateful to my uncle for taking me in and giving me an insight to work life around here. it's a shame all the shoe vocabulary i learned isn't gonna be much use anywhere else haha...
Monday 14 February 2011
my strange shitty dreams
one day i had a slight stomach ache, but it was already pretty late into the night and i was snug in bed, so i didnt bother going to the toilet. later that night i had a bothersome dream.. i needed to poo but i could not find a toilet.. when i did find a toilet it was either extremely dirty, under maintenance, or out of tissues. i think this is my body subconsciously telling me not to shit, cause if i did i dont think i'd be very happy when i would wake up.
conversely though, when i need to pee during sleep i go nonstop. not only that but the urge to pee never fades. id pee, then leave the bathroom, then need to pee again, and it would cycle until i eventually woke up. fortunately when i do wake up im not soaked in piss.
another recurring attribute in my dreams is that i cant seem to run properly. whenever i make an attempt to run i start out in an amazing sprint, then almost immediately my legs become heavy and i have to drag myself along.. its extremely irritating since most of the time im running its for good reason, and not being able to run when required really sucks.
the most interesting arousal iv had is when im in the middle of an action. for instance, once i dreamt i was falling, mid fall i woke up and bounced off my bed. another time i was playing basketball in my dream. i was in the middle of reaching out to intercept a pass and i woke up and shot my arm out. lol
to finish off heres some interesting rumors/facts (i dunno) about dreams: apparently light switches dont work in your dreams. also, everytime you look at a clock it shows a different time. these signs let you know when you are in a dream. if you know youre in a dream then you essentially have control over what you can do. i'll bet it would make for one hell of a dream.
conversely though, when i need to pee during sleep i go nonstop. not only that but the urge to pee never fades. id pee, then leave the bathroom, then need to pee again, and it would cycle until i eventually woke up. fortunately when i do wake up im not soaked in piss.
another recurring attribute in my dreams is that i cant seem to run properly. whenever i make an attempt to run i start out in an amazing sprint, then almost immediately my legs become heavy and i have to drag myself along.. its extremely irritating since most of the time im running its for good reason, and not being able to run when required really sucks.
the most interesting arousal iv had is when im in the middle of an action. for instance, once i dreamt i was falling, mid fall i woke up and bounced off my bed. another time i was playing basketball in my dream. i was in the middle of reaching out to intercept a pass and i woke up and shot my arm out. lol
to finish off heres some interesting rumors/facts (i dunno) about dreams: apparently light switches dont work in your dreams. also, everytime you look at a clock it shows a different time. these signs let you know when you are in a dream. if you know youre in a dream then you essentially have control over what you can do. i'll bet it would make for one hell of a dream.
Thursday 10 February 2011
happy new year
my first blog of 2011, both lunar and gregorian calendars. so whats new this year? not much advancement in the plot of my life, until NOW!
for the past few weeks or so ive been in contact with my uncle in shanghai who works in advertising. he hooked me up with TBWA, a massive advertising agency with an office in hong kong. earlier this week i had my first interview, it was... average. while waiting around i had thought of so many good lines, so many interesting questions. then when the time came to say them, they magically slipped from my mind. whats more is i thought of even more good things to say after i already left. well no point in dwelling, i'll just have to take it as a lesson learned.
though im only being considered as an intern right now, i see it differently. im not like the usual intern that comes and goes over summer break. i'll take the time to learn the industry, then once the program is done i hope to stick around and apply full time employment with them.
if all goes well then i finally get to work in hong kong. FINALLY. if not, then... i still have my university applications to look forward to. maybe i'll end up being accepted by both and i can work full time while studying part time. it would be a pretty hectic schedule to keep up, but its what i need to do to make up for all the lost time wasted through previous ignorence and laziness.
GO MIKE
edit: i realize that im moving away from interesting blog posts to stories of my life. i'll write something less about me and more about whatever else is interesting in the next post. PROMISE.
for the past few weeks or so ive been in contact with my uncle in shanghai who works in advertising. he hooked me up with TBWA, a massive advertising agency with an office in hong kong. earlier this week i had my first interview, it was... average. while waiting around i had thought of so many good lines, so many interesting questions. then when the time came to say them, they magically slipped from my mind. whats more is i thought of even more good things to say after i already left. well no point in dwelling, i'll just have to take it as a lesson learned.
though im only being considered as an intern right now, i see it differently. im not like the usual intern that comes and goes over summer break. i'll take the time to learn the industry, then once the program is done i hope to stick around and apply full time employment with them.
if all goes well then i finally get to work in hong kong. FINALLY. if not, then... i still have my university applications to look forward to. maybe i'll end up being accepted by both and i can work full time while studying part time. it would be a pretty hectic schedule to keep up, but its what i need to do to make up for all the lost time wasted through previous ignorence and laziness.
GO MIKE
edit: i realize that im moving away from interesting blog posts to stories of my life. i'll write something less about me and more about whatever else is interesting in the next post. PROMISE.
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