Day 50: Schizo Schedule Confuses Mind & Body

Soul's always in tune with creativity and capoeira, so no worries there
it's the mind and body that's in a little bit of a conflict
Rushed to training and jumped straight into it
It was strength circuit, basic kicks coupled by full body strength conditioning
i guess i've always been a cardio/jogo kinda guy
will have to work on conditioning in my next training

was hurting for the whole week
followed by another week of late night work-related commercial shooting
had a chance to swing by the academy, but ran back home to granny like the little boy i was
and hid under the blanket for 2 hours
bliss.

should be very well rested and back into the work/capoeira grind again after the raya break!

Rant & Roll 7: You drink too much 'Hatorade' Kancil Hater!

Kancil hater: defined as a creative that despises the local award show for its obvious big-agency bigotry. unfortunately has not won anything yet. rightfully or wrongfully, award-winning creatives scoff at their opinions as those of, 'sour grapes'

we'll call him sourgrapes.

Kancil hater II: defined as a creative that despises the local award show for its obvious inclusion of individuals deemed 'not worthy' to grace the judging panel at the Kancils. rightfully or wrongfully, creatives who're devoted to being professionals scoff at their opinions as those of, 'scammers'

we'll call him err...

scammer.

Please remember the above two characters, as i'll be conducting a seance to conjure their despicable spirits to write this blog post...

nomnomnom

.

.

.

*conjured!*

sourgrapes:

'It all started when someone thought it would be a great idea to reward creatives who're creative

everybody gets inspired by the winning work

we go home and feel sorry for ourselves

and the next day we give them the finger and drown ourselves in work

vowing to go up on stage, and be the victor instead!

And then someone thought

fuck it, rules are rules, let's find a way to beat them

and every creative person said, 'hey... they can do it... so can we!'

and so everyone started doing it'

scammer:

'Honestly.

It's fine.

Rules are meant to be broken.

Initiatives are just that - an agency 'initiative' to help put our money where our mouth is.

If we believe in the idea so much, let's see how effective it is and run it anyway mister client!'

sourgrapes cuts in...

'And then someone thought

fuck it, rules are rules, let's find a way to beat them

this time, let's just run ads for award shows.

let's not even bother if it's good for the clients, it's good for us!

hell let's leave the business to the suits, we're creatives, we should be winning awards

what? is this a promo ad? fuck it, get it over with and give me 50 award-winning print ads instead

not enough entries?! wtf people you call yourselves creatives?! tell you what, let's close the office for 3 months, and win some motherfucking awards.'

scammer interjects:

'if you're a fashion designer.

the clothes that you make for the runway are just that - for the fashion show

it's meant to awe, inspire and let everyone see how 'creative' you are

and that is how awards should be viewed as

a place to showcase your creativity.

the runway clothes never get made on the production line.

people go there to buy their insanely overpriced jeans and tshirts because of the brand

because it's creative!'

scammer sourgrapes speak at the same time:

'so you know what?

the scam VS non-scam thing isn't an issue

it's a matter of priorities.

when it's fashion runway time, showoff your haute

when it's the fashion sale time, make sure you have great clothes that sell!

fashion designers rarely compete in award shows

yet they're world famous marques

known for their creativity

it's a highly competitive industry

but hugo boss stands proudly next to gucci next to hilfiger next to versace

they all make ridiculous clothes that nobody would wear at fashion runways

a little like 'initiatives' that only judges appreciate

but they make really nice tailored, functional and stylish daily wear for their customers as well

that's what keeps the business moving'

sourgrapes distracts scammer with a buncha shiny pencils, and grabs hold of the keyboard:

'things get awry when lose their priorities

the awards get to their heads

winning is great

but acting like a real winner takes a lot more than trophies

oooo

yes i envy saatchi & saatchi

a company that actually fired their founders

or rather, maybe maurice and charles left because the agency no longer stood for anything but their surnames on the door?'

COMMERCIAL BREAK

read this article, if you haven't already:

http://bit.ly/1XJwMJ

scammer:

'remember kancil hater! it's just a difference in opinion of two very respectable agencies. It's a free country. We can choose to, or not to enter! We just feel like we owe it to the people to explain why.'
And now, read this one posted a few days later

http://bit.ly/QaZJp

scammer:

'screw the kancils. i don't want my work defiled by a bunch of unranked unknowns. If they haven't won any awards, how dare they judge my work to be inferior to theirs. If they like real work so much, go back and do their promo ads la!'

sourgrapes:

'you think that's bad! hah! i knew this day would come! it's karma i tell you! Even the One Show is on to you!'

sourgrapes:

'The One Show gave us a merit for our efforts this year.

But it's a merit i shall gold-plate just because of their sheer effort and intention to crack down on scams. It's a little bit like handing Chelsea that 2-transfer-ban for poaching someone. But enough about that, read all about it here http://bit.ly/E9BOa

scammer wasn't convinced, so sourgrapes pulled out the above poster.

it's not worthy of a bigger photo

so see the ad here http://bit.ly/6GRk3

sourgrapes:

' you all die lorrr.... scam la scam some more'

scammer:

'whatever man.. you're a scammer yourself'

read all about their exchanges, they go by various acronyms on the Verbal Assailant forum

but they're actually the same people.

Check out the very entertaining verbal assailant forum here:

http://bit.ly/zHQ8t

and

http://bit.ly/ZqW3D

to Kancil Hater I and II

it's funny that you're actually both sides of the same coin

a coin that the client will either keep in his pocket

or throw away at the beggar down the street

i have more parting words

but i'll let my good friend below speak about some 'hater' problem he encounters

http://bit.ly/ivtXP

scammer:

'hey, i'm gonna do a viral just like this one!'

Day 49 - Retorno pra roda

happy faces post roda

rafa looking a little distracted

attack of the clones!

photos courtesy of priscilla alycia @ facebook

Day 49

A good day, or night rather

It was nice to get back in the roda

we were all shaking off heaps of rust

it showed

hell i think i even forgot some songs along the way

quek's been too busy with flu and building superficial muscles

i had a nice game with rafa

got bencao'd in the mouth though

marissa said she heard my teeth

but i think it was my pride

made it up a little in the subsequent games

malandro'd durim and nacho

marissa pulled one back with a low-blow heel to the penile area

this time, pride kept my game and gameface going

throwed in a nice lil trip

game's looking rusty in the sense that still have not pulled in many floreios that i've wanted to while in practice

honestly wasn't physically feeling the snap muscles

was just playing a more malandro/cardio movement game

the last regional game with quek was a close-roda fast kick game

i think i did alright

legs felt a lil fatigued and kicked quek a little

but didn't think he minded much.

Overall energy was really good

everyone's definitely feeling the pre-batizado buzz

Axè - 8.5

Jogo - 7

Day 46, 47, 48 - Flu Fighters!

The week before has been a little fluish

as i type i'm feeling a little fluish

the entire office is a little fluish

cueca's been down the past two weeks, cause he was fluish

one wonders if exercising actually kept me going

or is perpetuating my flu

nevertheless

i have managed to clock in 3 days of exercise this week

not counting the impending roda tomorrow

the thought of a roda makes me happy

like waiting for a birthday party to happen

when you are 12 years old.

Day 46 - Futsal Flu

Despite wearing glasses

and being fluish

i was MVP scoring, passing and practically running rampant at will

i'm trying to be humble so i shall stop here

Day 47 - trainin'

Had a heavy meal with mejuli before class

definitely slugged me down during the circuits

rafa was merciful and didn't throw down any back flexibility stuff

so it was pretty good for me

nice takedown combo to train

meilua

opponent- compasso

you counter with a rasteida frente, low

and if that doesn't get him

you drop-step across as he gingas into a tesoura frente

shall train that with cueca when he's feeling better

Day 48 - gym blitz with fellow flu fighter

met up with quek for a 40 min gym circuit at his apartment

i feel better than the last time i was there

definitely finding the weights a little easier

my biceps and chest are still womanly though

what can i say

i've never been one to develop gym-wrought 'show' muscles any way

function over form anyday

hence

shaved my head for good effect.

Rant & Roll 6 : Ideas Exist Outside

Up.
Don't need no links. Just go google it. Better yet catch the movie.
Signs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0HNWto0UY

The House of Small Cubes
http://vodpod.com/watch/1418143-the-house-of-small-cubes-la-maison-en-petits-cubes

I've been having a very existentialist week
Probably attribute it to the hectic work schedule
combined with the hallucinatory state of being in and out of fever
and losing at scrabble (resoundingly) to my senior writer
and his art director
and watching a great campaign being built before your eyes
(petty i know, but i'm jealously competitive that way)
and having to juggle my 2nd week on the job as a new husband
and enduring middle-management flak (i know, it's lonely at the semi-top)
and acclimatizing to my newly renovated office and workdesk
and having my annual introversions which coincides with the kancils
(are we better off than last year creative standards-wise?)
and feeling like clients use us as dildos for creative masturbations

Funny how i always use work as a salve for my wounds
If you're down, drown yourself in what you love to do
If work's down, drown yourself in some other end of the advertising pool

But you know what?
Sometimes you've just got to get out of the proverbial pool, and take a dip into the ocean

Because Ideas Exist on the Outside.
They exist beyond finding 'that one insight that's so valuable'
They exist beyond 'what do consumers want and need?'
They exist beyond 'that one tagline that rules them all'

UP - is the most refreshing piece of storytelling i've experienced this year. It put a smile and re-wet my contact lenses in the cinema.

SIGNS - a simple piece of storytelling. no verbal dialogue. and yet so much is said. the most amazing thing? it's from an ad agency. Publicis Mojo. I love them.

HOUSE OF SMALL CUBES - poignant piano piece plays the protagonist poetically through the most precious memories of his life.

I'm sure there are more examples out there in the world. But right now, the above three reminds me of one of the most important aspects of addressing the greatest fear of the creative person.

The fear? Not having any more ideas.
The address? Definitely not your advertising agency's.

Days 40-45: Of gym rats, squirrels, grunt training, fresh fish and sun-baked walking.

Wow the above title sounds just like a haiku
A very badly written one but oh well this ain't a haiku blog
This week's been quite good exercise-wise
Did my first solo dentsu park training, and i must say it's good. Shall continue to do so.

Day 40:
Quek dropped me a quick message
and we went off for a true fitness rendezvous
some strength training
did better than the last few rounds
but the finale was the leg squat-lunge
couldn't complete the 5 sets cause of sunday's gym trainin.

Day 41:
FUTSAL!
Didn't do many runs.
By my hamster-wheel standards anyway
Legs felt a little lead-like
but still managed to do 2 volley goals outside the box
overall, good cardio with plenty of breaks in between

Day 42:
What a surprise
A weekday at 5pm without rain!
called quek but he was busy
so i decided to take things into my own hands instead
Practiced the moves from celebrity fitness training with quek
Feels good to know the ground movements are smooth
I think it's an important regime of my training that i've been neglecting
training movements on my own
a lot of the moves in my jogo in the roda
right from role movements are developed from self-training
Alex was there to provide some spotting, discussions and even some contributions on street fighting and grappling techniques
i still prefer running away and stabbing them from the back

Day 43
Filed an application for official training with Her Majesty (that's my wife)
went for dinner,
she meekly gave her demure 'please don't go' tactic
but seeing the determination in my face, relented
i went there late, just as well cause i really didn't want to go through warmups
it's been 4 out of 5 days of training in a row!
Some basic drills that i'll revise at the park
Rasteida frente, my favourite
but this time there was a nifty leg shuffle to surprise the opponent with a tesoura bachu
i still prefer tesoura frente and think there might be a chance of pulling it off with the same move
definitely need to practice this with quek to sort it out a little
otherwise, revisions at park will be bencao-chapa, chapa-escourao, duploesque, flying armada thingy... yeah.
Also had a nice samba training, getting ready for lynn's sisters wedding.
We were a bit rusty. My ears were a bit dainty.
but otherwise, twas a good session. Very liberating for my spirits.

Day 44
Lynn's sister's wedding.
I had this sequencia solo that i was mucking about at the park
i think i shall utilise this as my base solo for these few months
also something i shall work on at the park during practice.
Au into qaeda-de-rins, into headstand then handstand back down into qaeda then role into flippetyflop armada compasso au semao... phew that was a mouthful.

Day 45
Charity Roda at rumah Nur Salam
Nice benguela paced games with the crew
god i miss a good roda
energy was good
movements were very basic, but i kept a very simple, sturdy benguela game
movement around the roda was good
vision and anticipation was sharp
i shall try to focus more on gaining tactical advantage and capitalising on it
at the next non-performance roda.
Stanley's developing some malandragem. i shall up our games a lil.
marissa's always been my weight-to-weight roda and training partner, will see if i can try and use more movement around them
Perereka and Malcolm are the regional specialists, will force them into a smaller game and restrict their movements to see if i can take advantage of the situation better.

While taking a shower i thought of this quote
to be considered in my 'one-day-i'll-actually-do-it' tattoo
Roda de Vida, Jogo de bomba
i gotta check with rafael
but i think it should roughly translate into
Play well in the roda of life.
Because that's what capoeira is you know... life.

Rant & Roll 5: creatives! it's not just at work you need suit-like friends!

You pray that your friends are as efficient in time management as the good suits in the office. Certainly they're better than i am!

And yes. The unbridled joy of finally qualifying for marriage.

The culmination of months of hard work

Photos courtesy of Norman Tang of Sunday Photography Studio

It had to happen.
It was going too smooth.
Even my bride wasn't surprised at my apparent absent-mindedness.
I've spent months choosing the ring.
Weeks preparing logistics and stuff for the registration.
And the days leading up to it fretting over the guest list.
But i could've potentially ended up with jack. Not juli.
All because I didn't bring my identification card.

What can be learnt from this experience though?
Since this blog's posting is about ranting and rolling?

Well.
How bout this.
Lesson 1:
ORGANISATION!
Imagine that you spent a week working on some crazy-assed it's da shit award-winning creatives
Clients have approved it
On the day of launch
Someone forgot something as simple as, well... the thumbdrive that contains all the final artwork
And then unsightly things hit the fan, because clients have trusted you, brought their friends and colleagues along to show off, your entire team's counting on you,
AND YOU FORGOT YOUR THUMBDRIVE?

Creativity is important. But just like the gym. You gotta work your left side as well as your right.
(It's a metaphor for the left and right brain ok!)

Focus. Make a list. Check it twice and thrice. Rehearse it in your head. Keep a notebook. Preferably not a smartphone. Cause you'll end up playing Bejeweled 2.

Lesson 2
YOU'RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR TEAM.
Yes. When unsavoury things hit the fan, one can't possibly clean it up himself.
You need a bunch of people who accepts your mistake
and focus on the problem at hand as a team
rather than pointing at the fan and saying, 'you did it!'
I am rather fortunate to possess such individuals in my circle both at work and in life
(they're mostly the same people. lines blur when you do what you love as a job)
So if you've a great team around you, which i do, it shows!
and how would you know if you do have a great team?
All i can say is, remember the fan?

Lesson 3
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Often. People freeze. Or they hide under the table. Or they point finger. Or they take emergency leaves.
If the fan's stuck because of regurgitated undigested substances
It's your reaction to it that matters the most at that moment.
Smile. Own up. Follow through.
Do what you can. It doesn't have to be a domino effect.
Be resourceful. If it's mission critical, stall, buy time, distract, entertain, divert.
Laugh in the face of potential danger and imminent singledom.

Lesson 4
BUILD GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CLIENTS
Just because you're creative don't mean you can hide in your little room to brainstorm and win trophies.
Meet the clients.
John Hegarty did. David Ogilvy did. Akira Kagami did. Everyone in the Copy Book did.
And that's cause the best ads came from insights into the client's business
and nobody knows it better than they do
and even if they didn't, and you knew better than them
that's when you know they'll trust you with their business.
In this case, it was my wife-to-be
she didn't freak. she laughed it off. and that really helped calm some nerves.

All in all.
It was a memorable way to kick-off matrimony
And in the end
The drama and suspense worked to our advantage
All because of the above lessons
which hopefully i will take the next time metaphorically faecal matter hits the fan professionally.