Marketing and my design work

Last night I was having some drinking with my cma classmates over at clarke quay. We were talking about how out final year projects and was checking out how each and everyone's project had been going. So when it came to me, I was talking about how my ideas were good but my work simply does not do justice to my thoughts. I had great ideas, that' what I have been told. But I didn't have the visuals to show it. So Joyce(One of my classmates) gave me some insights to this problem that I had. It was a problem cause, it wasn't like I didn't care (well ok to a certain extend I didn't really care) but it was more like I would stare at the work and nothing comes to my mind! Unlike ideas that flow out like water from a broken dam.

She was saying that I should be looking into the visuals and I said yes i agree, but I just didn't have any ideas on that! Things just don't come to me at all! It seemed like she totally understood where my problem lies. She told me, you have to see the visuals of things as important enough so that your campaign can be successful. She continued, the visuals are important in a sense that if your visuals are not there, it doesn't even matter if your campaign idea is cool as shit, people are not going to be interested in attending the campaign in the first place! You have to see the visuals as an important aspect of the whole campaign.

After hearing that, I felt that what she said was true and it totally hit me in the head. I discovered the reason why I couldn't get any ideas for visual is because I didn't see it as important! I didn't think that it would be something that, for a lack of a better word, deserve my attention. Joyce then was telling me how the visuals will be that one that would give the ROI for campaign. How many people would be going and stuff. So without these visuals, your campaign idea can be great but it would be a great pity that no one appears for it.

I have another 2 weeks to the EPA, where external peeps are coming over to look at our campaigns and give feedback. Indeed, the last thing that I would want is for them to think that they are wasting their time listening to me. It's my last effort required for cma and hey, why not just give it one last solid shot huh. No harm in that really. So now I have to look at my campaign and see how I can make it integrated. More solid in a sense that it should be well thought of. Instead of things just being there. So! When can I start doing it? I can start right now. But since I already had plans I should be more practical. I am heading out for the whole day tomorrow as well. so that's a nono. Monday is good, I would be taking a break to collect my passport. Tuesday, a break for my interview. Wed I have something but I cannot remember!!shitt

Oh she was saying dun be too smart also Like dun act smart too much. Just be smart. Yeah kinda like my flaw ah. Shall talk about it more when I have time! Now I gotta run!!

Gonna be singing in a while

Just a little while later, I am going over to some CC that is so far away, I have no idea whether i'll be safe or not. LoL. The previous post I was talking about how I was inspired to sing in such a way that I can allow the people to feel the 享受-ness. Well just a few more hours later is my chance at trying my hands at it. Hopefully, I would be able to even sing in the first place. I'm not too sure of the arrangements but I was told to prepare a song "just in case".

So here I am, not too sure whether I should let the just incase happen or to hope that it doesn't. For one thing, I haven't been practicing a lot. Strictly speaking, I did have sometime to practice the song but I didn't. Those pockets of time, I used them for something else. I'm not too sure what but it just wasn't singing. Not too sure if I should feel guilty about that though. Its like I usually practice singing when I have a lot of time. Idle enough to think "Hey I should practice my singing".

Now I think back at why I took up singing, it was because I wanted an instrument that I could play when I was traveling. At first I was thinking of the harmonica. Which is still an interesting instrument! Which I might wanna learn it but piano take priority over any other instrument that I wanna learn. WELL! Back to prep talking myself for the performance.

I have issues with the rhythm when the music is soft. Plus not to mention my pitching as well. Then I realized, it was not that I couldn't catch the pitch nor I just couldn't understand the beats. It was more of a problem of confidence. I found out that when I do things that I had confidence in, it was more natural and things turn out to be well, better! Or if the way I did it was wrong, I easily learnt from them because I could put all I know into the performance or the activity that I did. When I give all I know, I then know what I can improve and what I am doing ok. When the issue of confidence stands in the way, all I get are lessons that I have already learnt. I know why it is happening, I know how to counter act on them. It's like every time I perform, I do the same things over and over. I think this rolls over to other tings I do as well. Presentations, No problem! I have enough confidence in that and I think I am the most ocnfident when I'm doing a presentation. I know what to prepare, what I need to know and what I need to do. I should put these practices into my singing! and maybe gaming as well.

To those people who say gaming is a waste of time, I agree and disagree. First of all I would like to clarify what is a game... Hmm I should save this for the next post! Genius. Ok you guys would have to hang on to your shoes for this one.

So I would want to give a performance where the people can enjoy. But first I  would have to enjoy it myself! Like 2 days back when my Uni friends and I had a house party. Few of us knew how to play the guitar and so we went at it. I sang all sorts of weird stuff, going into imprompto attempts to change the lyrics without knowing the tune. I just followed the chords. I think I did alright! and when I sang I think I was alright. Strange that the stage that I so love when addressing a crowd could give me the jitters when I'm supposed to do soemthing else there. Think of singing like a different way to talk, a different way to communicate. It is still talking! So I shouldn't have a problem with that. I have the music in me, but when I think too hard, everything goes out the window. So I wil have to go up there and knwo that I can do it and just let my inner self take over and 'communicate!"

Righto. This post was born cos I became distracted when I was suppose to look for inspirations for me design. Designing things don't inspire me. Life and its' challenges do.

Reflections, refractions

I would like to talk about two things today.

First of is about the first time I heard a song sang live and had the feeling of 享受. That means "enjoyment" in chinese. During my sunday singing classes, I've heard some of my classmates sing, which most of them are better than me in many many ways, most of the time I would just go "Wow he can reach that note!" or "oh that's a nice song." But that time round, it was different. It was the first time in my life, I felt that I was enjoying the song! Like, it was not about the technics or what -nots. It was rather me listening to a person sing a song! I know it's a very general statement but I will try to put what I felt into words.

For once, I was listening to the "music" as a whole perhaps i'm not too sure of it myself either but it was definitely something that I have not experienced before. She was singing 新不了情. It was a popular song and all of us could very well sing along. At times, I would sing along (softly) as my classmates were presenting their song. But, as you can guess, not this time! I was listening to every word, every note, every beat. It wasn't like "Oh how can I learn to sing like that?" It was more like "This is how singing SHOULD be!" It should be an enjoyment, for the person singing and the audience. It was a connection. I know people talk about singing or any arts form in that matter, as a connection between the performer and the audience. I roughly understood what it meant, but this was the first time that I have experienced it.

Well, a little something random about me, is that I am a a person who values the experience. You could ask me to take pictures to remind myself of the place or to take a picture and show it to my friends. But no matter how beautiful a picture is, or how artistic a photo is, the person looking at it will never ever have the same feeling as the person who was there, taking it at that time. For me, with my lousy camera skills aside, have always thought that the pictures do not do justice for how I felt at that time. It may be due to my lack of camera skills. That is true I would say. I simply cannot capture what my mind has captured at that point of time! I could not capture my own emotions and thoughts at the point of time when I am at a particular place. I just couldn't do it. Thus I have always cherished my experience rather than my photos. I rarely took photos. Even if I did, it would be just 1 or two, but when I'm in a state of awe, I would be simply savoring the beautiful feeling that I was feeling right there and not do anything else. A few examples come into my head right now, the lake at China I visited sometime ago, waterfalls, the vietnam boat trip, my sky diving trip in Australia and finally the feeling of enjoyment from hearing a song sang live. It is perhaps why people keep returning to concerts again and again even if it was always the same songs.

I wanted to achieve something like that. I want to bring enjoyment to the audience through either my presentations or through singing. Maybe I could do this for my street fighter as well. I'm not too sure how far I can extend this "enjoyment" idea but I will try it out. That's another thing for me to keep on my wristband. I would imagine that I would need more wrist bands. I shall get myself one later today.

Another thing that I wanted to talk about was how when I get lose and my temper shows, I cannot AT ALL control myself. I would go into a trance. Not caring about anything at all. IT was not to show off, niether was it a REALLY big issue that I had to be such an ass. I have lost it once before at a popular sale and after which regretted on my behavior after it had happened. This time aroudn it happened again because when the bill came, we were charged on items that we were told early that it was on promotion(somewhat, i'm not going into details here). So I felt cheated! Yes I believe that the feeling of being cheated gets me crazy. The feeling that someone gave me wrong infomation and I end up in situations like this. I go all mad and started to act irrationally. My friends joked about it for a while and I was telling myself that "Hey, this is what I will get pissed for. That's who I am." I believed that for a while. Following that I felt a little guilty, I felt that I could have handled the situation a little better. I mean why be so pissed? Unless the person is not reasonable, there would be no reason for me to get all hot headed. Everyone makes mistakes, why can't I be a little more forgiving? Then again, I always thought myself to be a very easy going person, I would be alright with how things turn out from time to time, I could just take it and see if we could fix it by talking it out. But when it comes to being cheated or having the feeling of being cheated, I just can't take it.

And so, I am at the cross roads of, Being myself or try to be someone better. I am now edging towards being someone better. Because that being myself and going all crazy was not what I wanted. I felt guilty afterwards. And I know there would be no point for my to say sorry online where nobody sees it.  And chances are, I wouldn't go back there just to say sorry as well. But I would change the way I would behave if ever the same situation arises. If it made me guilty, why do it? I feel that this may be the hardest thing I would have to tackle because of the fact that the feeling is so much embedded in me. It was more like instinct rather than a thought process. It was loud an ferocious. It came like an ambush and tore everything apart. And only when the screams faded, a dead silence covered my mind. It was like how a werewolf after killing everything and the moon wanes and he begins to turn back, only to find his dead family's blood on his own hands.

I will attempt to tame this werewolf and on the next full moon, it will not see the day. or night in this case. And of course! I will also be trying to bring the feeling of enjoyment through my singing to people as well! Now at least I know where I am going for my journey of singing. bEfore that, it was more towards showing off and trying to get the right notes out. Things that were too technical and were not in anyway "organic" as singing should be.