2010
So a decade has come to a close since year 2000. Well I guess it’s quite significant to most people, since this is the first decade of the millenia and it’s probably an easy reference point for someone to look back and reflect. Since I am born in 1981, right at the beginning of a decade, at every turn of the decade, I would be in the late 20s, 30s and so on in the age category. So I guess referencing from 2000 kind of works for me.
My millenia started off enlisted in National Service as a recruit. A rite of passage to adulthood essentially. Stepping out of comfort zone, sharing a room with 9 other strangers from all walks of lives and many of them with strange quirky habits. The world was weirder than I thought. And my eyes were suddenly opened to the skepticism and cynicism of how people were just going through the motion to get through the system. I guess my idealism at the beginning of enlistment had given way to the grim reality of things. I’ve met some brilliant people as well and still kept in touch to this day. As much as I would love to be an officer like many other young lads, alas, not everyone was cut out to be one. Fortunately or not, I do not know yet. If I had been put through it, how different would I have become today?
After a not very eventful 2 years 4 months, I’ve finished my full-time national service. While serving, I had plenty of time to think about what exactly do I want to do in my university. I’ve booked a place in computer science, under a scholar’s programme but I felt that I had no inkling or interest in that area. While idling as a storeperson after I was diagnose with pneumonia, I had a lot of time to read books, watch art-fart short films, go for music gigs etc. And I guess those disparate experience helped shape my decision to take up communication studies. And to be fair, I actually did not have any clue what that course entails. All I’ve wanted to do was to make films.
So in the first-term of my first year in university, I was quite astonished by the amount of readings I had to do. To begin with, my command of English had actually been rather appaling. Furthermore, I had problems understanding and paying attention in lectures to the rambles of my lecturer, some with China accent and some with Indian accent. I was also working part-time in Starbucks as a barista at that time and it was a great struggle to juggle both things. On top of that, there was also the “stress” of meeting new people every day in different classes and getting out of the comfort zone to present in front of big classes, of which 80% were female. Still, in the end I did well for subjects I was good in - areas of film studies and multimedia. In areas like journalism, research and presentation modules, I scored a mediocre C for them. So I guess the first term charted the course of my undergraduate studies. I was more than dertermine to avoid heavy theoretical subjects and focused my time and energy on practical modules.
I took up broadcast practicum for 4 semesters and started producing and even presenting news packages. I’ve never imagined myself doing that for real, although I did actually secretly mimick news presenter when I was younger. It was fun working in small teams and getting to know seniors as well. In my final 2 practicum I was doing executive producing work. We had enough people to do studio programs and my task was to help with the training of juniors, write presenter links, coordinate rehearsals and recording. I remember I had some very strict and “old school” teachers who would watch from behind my back and bark comments and criticism in the studio control room. Every session was nerve-wrecking, especially the studio interview segment, either as a studio director or as a presenter.
The professional internship experience further increased my confidence with videography. Taking videos and assisting cameras were what I did everyday - events, product, interviews - and that somehow led me to participate in the inagural go-far project in Sri Lanka.
