September 10, 2008
9:33pm
Day 10. Ten days in Singapore. It’s weird to think about it that way, actually. Like I’m dreaming, but not. Haha. Sigh… So I’m sitting in my hotel room (which I have for another 4 days), on this huge bed that’s longer AND wider than I am tall. I have Filipino music lullabying out of itunes and somewhere in the background, the tube’s turned on to a past season of America’s got talent. From where I’m seated, I can see the Singapore Flyer through the window – it’s the HUGE ferry’s wheel by the Singapore harbor. It’s weird. I’m in Singapore.
Just now, from the other side of the room, I can hear two black dudes on TV. They’re New Orleans Katrina survivor. “It’s surreal,” one of them says. “One day everything’s normal, and then BAM. It’s like your whole life is changed; in a blink so much of it is gone. And there’s nothing you can do about it.” Bro, my thoughts exactly. Ok, so it a little selfish of me to compare my being kicked out of America to losing house, home and loved ones to a disastrous hurricane. But, hey… give a guy a break. I can’t help it.
I miss the life I had 6 months ago. Dammit. I miss my job.
It’s funny. Wait, no, rewind, rephrase. It’s sad. I love LRW and the people that worked there. I really do. They were aggressively (but not abrasively) action oriented, intellectually unmatched, and fucking passionate. Katie, Eric, Robin, Rick, Anu, Jess, Carly, Matt, Vino, Kevin, everyone… They all were unbelievably smart, were sharply driven by logic, and thought so far and out of the box that the box was a dot in the distance. They were so giving and open about the job, the responsibilities, and their own lives; I learn so much about the business and business in general from them. Every single person I worked with helped me grow leaps and bounds. Good to fucking great. They pushed me to become the best Marketer, Researcher, and Business-person I could have possibly been in a span of just over of a year.
And now here I am – in the real world realizing how spoiled I was… Research International is arguably one of the best in the world. Certainly in the top 3 in Asia! Great brand equity! Mention RI to any fortune 500 brand manager or consumer insights rep, and they will nod and smile, “Ahh. Yes. Research International.” The company has massive global reach and an extremely impressive list of clients that would make even Dave Sackman (CEO of LRW) wet his pants. But my praises stop there. What I find far from impressive are the procedures, processes, and products that come out of the Singapore Office. Man… Talk about dated inefficiency. The RI process takes longer to do, is unnecessarily harder to accomplish, and produces “insights” that aren’t as insightful as they could actually be. To top it off, the process is soaked in Asian-style hierarchal bureaucracy (This means layers and layers of red tape, silent disapproval, passive aggression, and unquestioning acceptance… all served with a smile, a bow and a gracious thank you in your pick of 3 different languages!) Ridiculous! Ridiculous, I say! 10 days in Singapore and 8 days of working for RI Singapore, and this is what have to say. Does not bode well now, does it.
Sigh.
But alas, I do have a plan. The plan still in conception and proposal stage, and I don’t even know if the higher ups will buy into it. But hey, I just can’t sit on my ass now can I? So what’s the plan, you ask? A revolution! I’ll start small. Plant a seed here. Plant a seed there… I need to show people (that matter) that there are better ways to do things. Better ways to say things. Better ways to think about things. Better ways in general! I’m a fucking rockstar, and I need to show people that I can rock their socks off! I just need to find the opportunities! That’s where God’ll come in and help out. Faith man. Faith. Gotta have faith faith faith.
PS – I’m sleepy now (its 100AM). I was distracted there for bit. I was typing and saw my toenails. Damn I really needed to cut them. While I was at it, I cut my nails nails too (the nails on my hands), coz they were getting long and I had the nail cutter out all ready. Man I have one of those cool nail cutters with the casing around it so that the nail debris doesn’t fly everywhere. SO COOL! While I was cutting my nail, CSI:NY came on, so I watched that first. Then House MD came on… So, I watched that too. Then I got back to this… and now I’m sleepy… I have a client meeting in at 830am (my boss is pitching a project to a big insurance and banking firm). I hope we win it. It’ll be part of the revolution! Viva la revoluthion (That’s saying it Spanish for you, baby)!
Peace out and much love!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
NAIA Departure Terminal 2/PAL Airbus 450
August 31, 2008 - 7:02 AM
I leave for Singapore today. Now. I leave Singapore now. In about 45 minutes, I board a Philippine Airline Airbus 450 (I think) and journey off to a new job, a new life, a new adventure. Scurry!
It’s weird to embark on this new life when I feel like the one I left in America 6 weeks ago is still not completely over. It’s awkward to think about it. Feels like sneakers with wet socks. So I guess it’s about time I start dealing with this shit already, ya… And for some reason, writing it down and posting it up on this blog thing allots me that closure, or at least being the process. Hahaha.
I have this song on repeat on my Ipod. It’s called “My Time With You” by David Choi and Kina Grannis. (David Choi is this uber famous youtube music star with an endearingly raspy voice. Sexy Korean-Am from OC. Look him up folks.) Anyways, I’ve probably listened to it a gajillion times. I practically know the words by heart:
We’re going to the beach today
We’re gonna laugh and sing our cares away
The sun is shining on our face
We can take it in and let it out and say
La la la la la la la
I do enjoy my time with you
Making the best of everything we do
We're gonna try on something new
And we’ll make it ours before the day is through
La la la la la la la
And now the day has said good night
Just want to say I had a real good time
I think I really feel alright
And I don’t ever ever wanna say goodbye
La la la la la la la
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmetbTknAUk
The song’s just so bubbly. And when I listen to it and close my eyes, I see the faces of people I love so much but are an ocean away from me… Smiling with the sun on their face, their hair dancing in the California breeze. It’s the song they would play if this was all one big movie and this, me right now at the airport, was the last scene (Peppered with flashback images of course) before the credits. It’s my goodbye song, I guess. A personal, emotional goodbye, not really to the people (did that already), but to myself. Or the me that was and will never be again. Sunny California Jacques – accessories included. Ya, I know. Never be again seems so putridly negative, but it’s the truth. For better or worse (and hopefully for better), I will never be the same as I was in Los Angeles. It was time of such youthful freedom, courageous exploration, and refreshing discovery. I loved it. I tell you, it’ll be hard to top…
Thank you, Los Angeles. I had the time of my life. Until next time, ya…
Wanna know something stupid, my iPod and Laptop are still on LA time. Hahaha I know, sad right. I couldn’t even let go of that. I just couldn’t do it for some reason. But I think I’m going to do it right now… There. Done. Exhale. (Acceptance)…
August 31, 2008 - 7:02 AM
I leave for Singapore today. Now. I leave Singapore now. In about 45 minutes, I board a Philippine Airline Airbus 450 (I think) and journey off to a new job, a new life, a new adventure. Scurry!
It’s weird to embark on this new life when I feel like the one I left in America 6 weeks ago is still not completely over. It’s awkward to think about it. Feels like sneakers with wet socks. So I guess it’s about time I start dealing with this shit already, ya… And for some reason, writing it down and posting it up on this blog thing allots me that closure, or at least being the process. Hahaha.
I have this song on repeat on my Ipod. It’s called “My Time With You” by David Choi and Kina Grannis. (David Choi is this uber famous youtube music star with an endearingly raspy voice. Sexy Korean-Am from OC. Look him up folks.) Anyways, I’ve probably listened to it a gajillion times. I practically know the words by heart:
We’re going to the beach today
We’re gonna laugh and sing our cares away
The sun is shining on our face
We can take it in and let it out and say
La la la la la la la
I do enjoy my time with you
Making the best of everything we do
We're gonna try on something new
And we’ll make it ours before the day is through
La la la la la la la
And now the day has said good night
Just want to say I had a real good time
I think I really feel alright
And I don’t ever ever wanna say goodbye
La la la la la la la
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmetbTknAUk
The song’s just so bubbly. And when I listen to it and close my eyes, I see the faces of people I love so much but are an ocean away from me… Smiling with the sun on their face, their hair dancing in the California breeze. It’s the song they would play if this was all one big movie and this, me right now at the airport, was the last scene (Peppered with flashback images of course) before the credits. It’s my goodbye song, I guess. A personal, emotional goodbye, not really to the people (did that already), but to myself. Or the me that was and will never be again. Sunny California Jacques – accessories included. Ya, I know. Never be again seems so putridly negative, but it’s the truth. For better or worse (and hopefully for better), I will never be the same as I was in Los Angeles. It was time of such youthful freedom, courageous exploration, and refreshing discovery. I loved it. I tell you, it’ll be hard to top…
Thank you, Los Angeles. I had the time of my life. Until next time, ya…
Wanna know something stupid, my iPod and Laptop are still on LA time. Hahaha I know, sad right. I couldn’t even let go of that. I just couldn’t do it for some reason. But I think I’m going to do it right now… There. Done. Exhale. (Acceptance)…
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