Hard Lessons

I felt like screaming, but nothing came out.

I can't post this on Facebook, so I'll do it here.

I know you think I'm useless.

I know you think that I'm a hardworking nutcase with no brains for anything.

Each time I see that exasperated look in your eyes I fall down another step.

Steps which I took so long to climb up.

I have no idea why you are so exasperated with me.

Is it because you've left your "mistakes" behind you, so far away that you forgot how much it hurts when people deride you for mistakes you don't even know you committed?

I'm sorry. If that is the case, I'll never be good enough for you.

Nor will anybody be.

Maybe except girls.

I've often wondered, when I first stepped into Mediacorp, why there are so many females and so, so little of their counterparts.

Over the months, I've come to understand why.

The reason is simple -

People think twice before kicking females around.

People think twice before shouting and scolding and throwing stuff at females.

People think twice before giving a female more work to do if there is a male around.

Maybe it's because I swing the other way thats why I realize that so blatantly in the organization.

I had to get this off my chest after swallowing so much SHIT today.

This is my FIRST time doing a live show.

I'm doing it WITHOUT an in-house AP by my side, unlike almost ALL the other Olympics, SEA Games, Asian Games and whatnot.

The "grandmaster" AP was around for 8 years in Mediacorp, until she quit last year. Subsequently followed by two very "shitty" APs.

... come to think of it, I wonder why.

I've been thinking, were they truly shitty? Or was it because they were simply thrown into a vast lake without a lifeline and just left to sink?

I've been scolded countless times from my boss when he/she asks me,

"Have you gotten this done yet?"

and I give *a blank look*

the reason why I give "the blank look" is because I simply didn't even know I was supposed to do it.

And their repl(ies) to that would be something like

1) Roll eyes and make you look like the biggest loser in the world

2) say, "Then why didn't you ask?" (IMHO, this is the stupidest question in the world because, you're asking me to ask something that I didn't know I'm even suppose to ask!)

3) Ask someone else to do the job, which ALSO makes you feel like shit because you CAN actually do it, but because NOBODY said anything, your job splatters on another unfortunate soul. (It makes you feel like you're accumulating bad karma.)

I'm the ONLY sports assistant producer in Mediacorp, and I learnt EVERYTHING from scratch.

I only see my "teacher" twice a week, and on special occasions, maybe more.

All I had to refer were scraps of notes handed down from previous generations of APs to me.

There was NO ONE to guide me.

NO ONE to teach me.

NO ONE to protect me.

NO ONE to tell me what to do next.

So each time I get scolded, slammed, derided, insulted, slandered, I swallowed it and took it as one of my learning lessons.

I bet for the past EIGHT years at least, no sports AP had to resort to learning in this fashion.

I felt like screaming, but nothing came out.

Because I know I have another four months to go.

I totally agree when one of the producers recalled what an assistant producer said before he left.

He turned around and screamed at the EP, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH MEDIACORP? IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU!"

Reflecting on that statement, Mediacorp is probably one of the worst places to work at in the world.

But it is my training ground.

That is why I stifled my scream.

I stifled till tears almost came out.

Yes.

Just walk away.

You may be better then me, for now, but I swear across my life that I'll surpass you by far one day.

And I will be a better person, compared to you.

I will learn.

I will learn everything I know.

Each emotional scar, each slam, each derogatory remark, each slander, I will remember, and I will learn from them.

They will remind me what I will not do in the future.

I will not become like you.

I miss being free.

I miss being able to plan my own time to do my own stuff.

I miss being able to do my own things without worrying about what tomorrow will bring.

Being an assistant producer is probably one of the most dedicated jobs in the world.

Dedicated as in: You can't be an AP if you don't dedicate your entire life to it.

I'VE LOST MY HANDPHONE.

IF ANYBODY FOUND IT, PLEASE CALL MY HOUSE @ 62241664

Why the fuck do I try so hard when everything eventually goes wrong?

When everything goes wrong, the person who did the most work GETS THE BLAME.

Why?

For obvious reasons. Because he did the most work.

FUCK.

FML.

How can so many wrong things happen in one day?

Masks

There is a mistake that everybody makes.

The presumption that they are always correct and everybody else is wrong.

It's hidden under a mask called "self-confidence".

....

Throughout my life I never had much. Slowly, in the recent years, I meet truly humble people and unparalleled boastful people. It's only now when I start to compare; where is my place in humanity?

The more I see the world, the more I feel smalled. Like a child that has always been swimming in a swimming pool, thrown to speculate the size of the ocean.

HOW MUCH AM I WILLING TO SACRIFICE TO ATTAIN MY GOALS?

In fact...

What is my goal?

I tell this to everybody who asks me this question:
First and foremost, to make sure that when I'm at the end of my life, I can look back, smile and tell myself that I have no regrets.

... that I can tell that I have impacted the world in some way...

... that I can touch my heart and say that I did everything conscionable...

... that I can close my eyes and know that when I open them again, I will be able to give a full and justifiable report; a report that would make my Father smile and say, 'well done'.

Yes.

It's vague. Seriously, it's so sweeping that it makes "goals" seem really out of context.



Some people say that I'm doing too much work.
Some people say that I'm doing too little work (compared to their time).

I feel that no work is too much for me if there is something inside it for me to learn.
(As quoted from my Shi Fu: Fu Ying)

An ex-good friend of mine told me this:
"You treat everybody as stepping stones, being close to them when you need them and discarding them like rubbish when you don't"."

It gave me pause to a scathing conversation that I was having with him.

It scared me.

Have I become such a monster?

Have I become so ruthless, have I become like the people that I hate in the first place?

Over the years, I've learnt never to trust anybody except myself. It's what gives me strength, knowing that as long as I don't delegate "trust" to anybody, I can never fail Me.



... Nobody really knows who is the real me.

Nobody knows because I don't want anybody to know.
For people who think they know me, they merely know what I want them to know about me.

Dig as they might, they will not find beyond what I want them to know about me.

I'm a person who has put on so many masks in my life that I've forgotten which is my real face anymore.

If you think you see Andrew as intelligent and hardworking - It's what I want you to think
If you think you see Andrew as slow and lazy - It's what I want you to think

If you think Andrew is pious and filial - It's what I want you to think
If you think Andrew is hedonistic and unfilial - It's what I want you to think

It's in this moments when I flash a mask over my face, so quickly that sometimes, I don't notice it myself.

... at this moment, when I look back at my self-defense mechanisms, I scare myself.
I scare myself because sometimes, when you put on mask, you cannot take it off without consequences.



Without consequences.



Even in the stifling office, with nobody around me, I'm still putting on a mask.

There are piles of tapes and papers around me, giving an illusion that I'm swamped.

I'll never really get out of this cycle.



If you really want to be close to me, you'll have to accept that you'll never really know the true me. You can tear off as many masks that I have, but there will always be one underneath to replace it.
... Because I've forgotten which one is my original face.

Hemorrhaging Thoughts

It's been like almost forever since I last posted on my blog, even I am starting to wonder if it's still alive or not...
*attempts to resuscitate*

sigh... Life is pretty much no longer like a roller coaster. It's like a permanently upside down roller coaster.
They said that life would get easier in P5, but I'm inclined to disagree.

True, it's not as physically exhausting as Chinese Drama, but the mental torment is psychotic. My outlook calendar is frightening.
Not even in my army days has my outlook calendar look so psychotic, even during IKC2 periods...

Working hours are also significantly longer then Chinese Drama..

=/

I keep telling myself, I'm not here to earn money, I'm not here to play, I'm not here to enjoy myself.
I'm here to learn, to make friends, to get contacts.

I'm here to build my portfolio. To ensure my success for a future that seems so bleak.

Upcoming Projects

1) Lose To Win Season 2
2) The Winning Post
3) Badminton Opens
4) Commonwealth Games 2010
5) Youth Olympics, Singapore 2010
6) Aviv Swimming Meet
7) Formula One, Singapore
8) Asian Games, Guangzhou 2010

By the end of this year, I vow to have all 8 projects completed successfully on my portfolio...




sometimes... like a child running away from home, I keep turning around to look back... My past was really unique, something that few people can ever compare to. But despite all the trauma and mishaps, I still pulled through...

Maybe I became a monster, maybe I became better.. I don't know...


In the silence, sometimes all I want is to hear your voice...
It's lonely, when you sacrifice everything to pursue one thing.

I don't know how long you can hold on...

But if you believe, don't let go.

I can go berserk, I can go crazy, I can become terribly spiteful, I can become sarcastically painful. I can be nasty, I can be irritating, I can be downright malicious.

But if you let go, I'll really, really fall forever..
















I love you.
You may not believe it.
I may not believe it.
I love you.

A List of Thanks

Have you wondered why the most hellish places on earth are the most memorable?

I realized that it's because in these places, people are forced to stick together, reconcile differences and share their misery.. and it is when they realize that they're not alone in their state, friendships are formed.

I'm really going to miss working in Channel 8 Drama Department, simply because the people there are (read:) AWESOME. A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Author's disclaimer: I'm referring to the people who work with me, NOT the LKKs upstairs who couldn't give two fucks on the suffering of their own subordinates downstairs.

I suck at Chinese. Seriously. Anybody who knows me knows that I'm an English speaking person. Jiak Kantang pai. But the people in Chinese Drama try to talk to me in English, knowing that I have difficulty communicating to them in Chinese during certain stressful moments.

I'm thankful that for the two shows I'm personally involved in, my directors are such fantastic people:

1) Wen Wen (Wu Fu Dao)

2) Yiyou (Wo Zai Ni Zuo You)

and my APs,

1) Yishan (Wu Fu Dao)

2) Jian Ting (Wo Zai Ni Zuo You)

it's funny, when you look back on everything. All these crazy stress and working hours made us all uber cranky as well.

We all do stupid things when we are tired + stressed + crazy + depressed.

To my Chinese Drama friends:

- Yishan (AP)

- Fiona (AP)

- Christina (AP)

- Joyce (AP)

- Jian Ting (AP)

- Ziqing (AP)

- Wilson

- Anna

- Jyashika

- Shi Yi

- Xin Ni

- Shuang Ying

- Shu Ying

- Wei Liang

- Carmen

- Xiao Peng You (AP)

- Janet (AP)

- Yan Ping (AP)

- Zann (AP)

- Shi Ni (AP)

- Hong Ren (AP)

- Nicole (AP)

- Liang Cai (AP)

- Josephine Da Jie (Wardrobe)

- Mong Kok Da Ge (Wardrobe)

- Jin Hua Da Jie (Wardrobe)

- Mei Zhen Da Jie (Wardrobe)

- Sasha (Wardrobe)

- Alvin (Makeup)

- Wai Gor (Makeup)

- Rina (Casting)

- Rinea (Casting)

- Liyun (PC)

- Lingli (PC)

- Wen Wen (Director)

- Lai Ling (Director)

- Yi You (Director)

and many many people who made my life so much more bearably easier in CD, THANK YOU!!

*huggs*

I know most of you will never see this post, but I just want to keep this post to remind me of every single one of you who thought me so many things.

12 more days! Good bye! xD