I-works

I actually wrote this down for my profile but blogspot only gives you 1200 characters. So okay, I write here then-lah.

I once applied to do Law but was rejected. Eventually, I decided to take up Mass Comm (cos all my classmates decided to do that). Secretly, I applied to do Criminology (and Law again), just for the heck of it. When I got into Mass Comm, I also got my reply for the other two applications - both accepted. But then I decided to stick to MC. This was in '92-'93.

In '95, I did a 3-month stint as a midday newsreader with a local community radio station in Melb (also as part of my journalism industrial training) - I spoke on the phone with Paul Keating (err, hooray?). A year later, i decided to pack-up and head back to my home country, Sarawak (oops, I mean, Malaysia).

Thereafter, I began my journey as a junior writer with an international highbrows magazine. I remember hating my sister for getting me that job (away from home too!) -- yea still got a bit of the scars to remember that brutal afternoon when I punched a wall in anger -- you see, I really wanted to be a bum for a while after years of studying. In retrsopect, I do owe her for launching my career.

So, along the way I was offered a job with a PR firm as an “information manager” (really – as a ghost /propaganda writer). I took it because it gave me the opportunity to move back home again. I didn't realised that my "home" was going to be months of travelling through towns and remote areas, doing covert propaganda work. The pay was great and at 23, I thought I had the best of everything (I was single and I had a sports car. Hmm.). But soon, something bad happened -- I had a conscience. I started hating what I was propagating. So I quit. Years later, this was going to haunt me back.

After I quit, for three years, I went through a limbo – owning a pro-shop, doing work for a government agency, brand managing a band, etc. Eventually, I somehow landed back with the same PR firm (although this time they’ve expanded into an empire of sorts - "IT" became a huge academic institution). Remember when I quit once before? Well I think it was payback time. My boss, decided to cut my pay (and the reason was because I hadn't bought a car yet to do marketing. I mean, WTF?). He gave half of it to three fresh grads that he hired. They're job? Was to do my job (because they had transport). I guess economically it made sense to get three people to do one person's job, but who gave a f*ck. So I quit. Until today I still curse him occassionally just so that I feel better about the whole thing.

Anyway, I bummed for a few months until one day, I met my former editor from the highbrows magazine at a train station. He asked me if I wanted to do some editorial work for them, so I said “why not?” since I was a bum.  That was November 2003. I never looked back since. Eventually, I became the senior writer there. 

Few years later, I took a risk and ventured into (what was still quite new in Malaysia then) the world of online interactive magazines. By early 2007, I was headhunted by a Singapore media conglomerate, to head an international men’s magazine as its editor. I stayed on and enjoyed every moment of it, until one day, the mighty Red and Yellow came knocking. By end of 2008, I sealed the deal and sold my soul to them. I perservered since then. 

That’s the story so far…

[Note: I'm just writing this entry to fill-up my blogspace. It's not to disgrace anyone. Well, except my ex-(prick-of-a) boss!]