Retrospective
Really ought to be asleep, but feel that I can't unless I squeeze this post out of my head.
Been thinking about the first day of work and the interview that preceded it.
Life back then was pretty simple. Mornings consisted of farming ogres in Deadwind Pass, afternoons in Warsong Gulch or fiddling with a pencil on a sketchbook, trying to figure out what to do with my time.
Finally, I managed to put together a half decent portfolio - a mish-mash of graphic designs, illustrations and photographs. I headed off to the first ad from the day's classifieds. Arrived at Raffles' Place and got lost; the ad printed the unit number wrong. Then it started pouring.
And so I was camping out at a 7-11 nearby, wondering what to do when this girl came in asking for directions to the same place. I figured, damn - job-hunting sucks. Everyone's looking for the same job. Years later, I realized that sometimes nobody responded to a job ad in the papers, no matter how glamorous you make the ad sound.
The cashier kindly told us that there was only 1 studio in the area, and it was right up the street. Muttering a tired word of thanks, we found the place and trudged up the 3 flights of stairs, which led to this incredibly posh looking place (was true at the time), and dozens of expensive-looking i Mac terminals. The place was abuzz with activity, which I found bewildering. What's all these people doing here?
After a quick interview, I was informed that I'd be contacted in a couple of days should I be selected. Later I'd ask the girl whom I bumped into at 7-11 for her number and asked her out on a dinner date. She was a Chinese Indonesian and could hardly speak English. Incidentally, the dinner date turned out to be a disaster.
Few days later I got a call asking me to go down to the studio for a trial and to get a feel of the working environment. This time, the place is totally devoid of customers. It was a Monday.
Towards the end of the day, the boss spoke to us one on one. After the initial round of small talk he said, 'Excuse me, there's something stuck in my tooth.' Then he fished his finger into his mouth to dislodge whatever that was bothering him.
Then he told me that I had the job.
The next day I went to work wearing my best shirt - a navy blue short-sleeve that had a dragon embroidery on one of shoulders, from POA. Haha I know - the horror! The place was abuzz with frightening activity again. Mr. E was at the reception and he gave me a once-over and I could tell that he was not impressed.
On the first day I was so fascinated with everything that I didn't eat a single bite for the entire 10 hours.
Zoom in to now, 2 years and 8 months later. How much has changed.
In retrospect, the person that I was back then - he almost doesn't exist anymore. Overweight, aimless, penniless and with no ambition whatsoever, spending months and months doing little else other than play computer games. I was acutely aware that I was quite literally nothing.
I think the most important thing I have acquired from this, is a dream. A goal.
Anyway, I'm writing all this because I have a feeling that I'm nearing the end of my time here. The next phase seem prepped to happen anytime soon.
P/S: They say that every 7 years, our bodies would have replaced every single cell that had existed. Basically the idea is that nothing of you that had physically existed 7 years ago, exists now. But on an old photography, you see a physical record. It's a feeling I never got used to.
Been thinking about the first day of work and the interview that preceded it.
Life back then was pretty simple. Mornings consisted of farming ogres in Deadwind Pass, afternoons in Warsong Gulch or fiddling with a pencil on a sketchbook, trying to figure out what to do with my time.
Finally, I managed to put together a half decent portfolio - a mish-mash of graphic designs, illustrations and photographs. I headed off to the first ad from the day's classifieds. Arrived at Raffles' Place and got lost; the ad printed the unit number wrong. Then it started pouring.
And so I was camping out at a 7-11 nearby, wondering what to do when this girl came in asking for directions to the same place. I figured, damn - job-hunting sucks. Everyone's looking for the same job. Years later, I realized that sometimes nobody responded to a job ad in the papers, no matter how glamorous you make the ad sound.
The cashier kindly told us that there was only 1 studio in the area, and it was right up the street. Muttering a tired word of thanks, we found the place and trudged up the 3 flights of stairs, which led to this incredibly posh looking place (was true at the time), and dozens of expensive-looking i Mac terminals. The place was abuzz with activity, which I found bewildering. What's all these people doing here?
After a quick interview, I was informed that I'd be contacted in a couple of days should I be selected. Later I'd ask the girl whom I bumped into at 7-11 for her number and asked her out on a dinner date. She was a Chinese Indonesian and could hardly speak English. Incidentally, the dinner date turned out to be a disaster.
Few days later I got a call asking me to go down to the studio for a trial and to get a feel of the working environment. This time, the place is totally devoid of customers. It was a Monday.
Towards the end of the day, the boss spoke to us one on one. After the initial round of small talk he said, 'Excuse me, there's something stuck in my tooth.' Then he fished his finger into his mouth to dislodge whatever that was bothering him.
Then he told me that I had the job.
The next day I went to work wearing my best shirt - a navy blue short-sleeve that had a dragon embroidery on one of shoulders, from POA. Haha I know - the horror! The place was abuzz with frightening activity again. Mr. E was at the reception and he gave me a once-over and I could tell that he was not impressed.
On the first day I was so fascinated with everything that I didn't eat a single bite for the entire 10 hours.
Zoom in to now, 2 years and 8 months later. How much has changed.
In retrospect, the person that I was back then - he almost doesn't exist anymore. Overweight, aimless, penniless and with no ambition whatsoever, spending months and months doing little else other than play computer games. I was acutely aware that I was quite literally nothing.
I think the most important thing I have acquired from this, is a dream. A goal.
Anyway, I'm writing all this because I have a feeling that I'm nearing the end of my time here. The next phase seem prepped to happen anytime soon.
P/S: They say that every 7 years, our bodies would have replaced every single cell that had existed. Basically the idea is that nothing of you that had physically existed 7 years ago, exists now. But on an old photography, you see a physical record. It's a feeling I never got used to.