First of all, is my first Straits Times advertisment. AFA was asking if I am interested to help to do an advert for the World AIDS Day. Mind you, it is not a small size one but a 36cm tall x 24.4cm advert and on the right hand page. For those who do not what is the significance of a right hand page advert, it is always cost 30% more than a left hand one. Simply because, when you flip your newspaper, you see the right page first. It is my first broadsheet advert and two colour advert. A two colour advert posed more challenge to a designer because you only have two colours to play and it still got to look good. It is so easy to do a 4 colour one. To add on the problems, SPH actually used a complete different colour combination to achieve the pantone colour I wanted for the advert. The agency sent me this long list of DON'T that I have not encountered in my two years stints as a graphic designer. Who will to know that black on ST, must not be 100% but 90%. The only reason I can think of is, the quality of the paper is so different from your usual paper, that if it is 100%, it will be too black, too wet to dry and end up staining the facing page. Ok, it is a true test of production skills and not design skills. Thankfully, after working on it for 2 hours at 3am, the advert was rush to ST to meet their deadlines and therefore, you have a chance to see this meaningful advert, one of my way to contribute to the community and HIV awareness, in your Straits Times. To many, it is just one of those adverts, but it has great significance to me, to my friends both HIV negative and positive.
This advert looks slightly different from the actual one because the agency has to do a very last minute change to the text.
This week was a bad working week because we were rushing out collateral and publiication for a Citigroup conference in New Delhi. It is a closed door annual conference, inviting only the richest businessmen from APAC. This is the third year I worked on this project and my last. My last date at work in my design firm ends on 30 Nov. We were working two days in a stretch with just 4 hours of sleep. In between, I was so upset by the irresponsible working attitude by the printing company that I snapped at the manager, causing half the production line stopped and looked. Ok, dun mess with a gay designer who has not sleep properly for two days, I can be very angry. Not helping especially, I was running three times to and fro from Beach Road to Tras Street, just to make sure the production is correct. Not helpful if you think explaining that just because one page is in colour so you cannot get a 30 pages publication correct, it is silly cos even primary school kid these days know how to print a black white document correctly. Ok, it is probably that the first time I scolded a printer like that.
Just before my boss boarded her flight to India, she told me that I have contributed to the company so much that it is a pity that I am leaving. I just smiled back. I was paid to do what I deemed as necessary and I was always prepared to do a extra mile. But I am not from Timbaktu, I know my effort must translate from some proper monetary rewards. I can achieve self satisfaction with my life in so many other ways, working late nights is not one of them.
I stayed back late to clear one of the last smallest project on my hand, knowing that I am not going to finish the others anyway and it is better to let my collleague take over when it is not too complex. My clients were shell shocked when I told them that it was my last day. I always think that it is the boss's duty to inform the clients, since we worked as a company and not individual. My ex company anchor client called me one hour later, asking me if I am interested to freelance for them. I have worked so independently with them that they are probably very worried that the publications may run into problems. Ok... not ethical, no... despite the fact I do not feel I am rewarded appropriately, I will not snatch the client away. I have a reputation to keep.
Before I left, I took a photo of my desk and the mac which I have used for 30 months.
The third most important thing that happened this week, was the Suicide Awareness Talk that I have planned with YF. This is the first official collaboration between OC and SOS and the turnout was good despite of such serious topic for a Saturday noon. We both agreed that there is a need to heighten the awareness among the GLBT communities. This talk, like I described to Yang, was also much of a personal need to address this issue to the gay population. It was a very intense two hours session, and I have not seen anyone move from their chairs until nearly towards the end. Of course, YF was a very experienced speaker on this issue, having to work with SOS for almost three yrs and managed to captivate the attention despite of this very taboo issue. I could almost describe it like, noone want to leave their seats for fear of missing out anything.
Roy, one of our OC faithful supporter and a friend, kept dwelling on the fact that suicidal person must be depressed was strange. I was very suicidal once but I was not depressed. It was a avalanche of issues and problems then, that made me feel like killing myself. I was not depressed but overwhelmed with things going on around me and I just wanted to give it all up so that I do not have to deal with it. Depression has a clinical defintion to it and I am not going to elaborate here, was not something I see myself having. Not any moment during my 6 yrs struggling with the issues. I see it as a developmental issue, where I was facing multiple crises as a teen, and any worse time can be over soon, the belief which kept me alive till today.
The first suicidal person I deal with, was when I was 20 in army when I had a bunkmate who was having major problem adjusting to army life. He is physically fit, good in his army skills and theories but bad in interacting with others. I spent almost two weeks, talking to him during late night while we polished our boots for the next day or studying for the papers, I used those hours talking to him and finding how was he coping each day, asking him whole lots of things that I cannot recall now. As it escalates to one point, he came to me and told me to distribute the stuff in his locker to the rest of the folk, I know I cannot handle it anymore, I went to the platoon sergeant. The next thing I know, he is downgraded and I never seen him again. I cannot remember his name or face, all I could remember is that, there is this one person I spent some time, holding onto him and walked that short journey with. Maybe he was not coping, maybe he is gay and or just wanted to get out of the army, I will not know. Today, the talk itself completed that 10 years cycle.
The last thing that happened this week, was my short stint as door bitch at PLAY. AFA held a party themed "BACK TO SCHOOL" there and I was helping to give out red ribbon. This is the first time I spent so much effort getting a outfit. Scrambled to Beach Road army market to buy a all white school uniform and cheap canva shoes. Dug out my VS school badge, tie and tie pin and even a old National Library membership card to complete the look. ahem... I think I still look good enough in that to be door bitch.
Had lots of fun talking to Seb who was also at the door. Again, I still observe this strange thing about Singaporeans, a lot of them looked like they are forced to come to a club. Smile people smile people, you look younger and better if you smile more. You save lot of money on botox if you do that. If not, spare the others the pain, dun show up at parties. Stay home to watch Mediacorp or knit a sweater if you think the world is very cham... I dun club if I am tired or bad mood, because people wont remember how good you look in clubs, they will remember your sulky funeral face, or your cat fights or your Merlion act. Of course, like I once told my friends, in the other cities, people looked happier in clubs cos alcohol are dirt cheap. oops... bitchy.
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