Only Life

As far as I remember, I don't normally blog that much at the beginning of the year. This may have to do with the lack of things happening. Work is normally very slow this time of year. I thought I was lucky though. I had 3 music videos lined up, a viral and a instructional video. So far, I have only done the viral. 2 of the music video's budget got cut and cannot hire me anymore and the other is postponed. The instructional video also seems postponed. It was not just one instructional video, it was about 6 over the next few months. We'll see. So back in the customary January unemployment land again. It does give me ample time to study my languages, research about China and catch up on films.

I met a few visiting from overseas friends that I have known for a number of years recently. In our ages of early to mid thirty somethings, I find it interesting at how many of them have made much progress in our respective professions. Not only that- some of them are still searching for what they want to do. I have not made massive progress either though am fortunate that I know what I want to do and am making slow progress. I feel unfortunate that many of my friends don't know what they want to do- let alone having progressed in a field of vocation.

Speilberg shot Jaws when he was 23. Che Guevara overthrew Batista at 29.

Did the turn of the millenia see us thirty somethings stumbling out of the 20th century like a bar we got kicked out of and still trying to recover from a hangover? The ever increasing lower middle classes all competing for work in an increasingly globalised world.

The film Fight Club (1988) had already ushered in this generation that end up working in jobs they hate though unable to find the will to seek new direction. Despite new technologies that made communication and information flow available at a click of a keyboard, it seems to have brought not only new opportunities, but equal competition and distractions.

I can't help but assume that reality tv, myspace and facebook have all contributed to a virtual world where we compete for virtual friends because, it certainly beats looking for another dead end job. Anyway, I already have my dream job in Second Life...

It's not that I think a career should be priority, I don't. I think being fairly happy with what you do for 9 hrs a day is. I guess it just makes me wonder about all us thirty somethings and how we have gone from one job to another in our twenties and by the time our thirties have rolled up, we still haven't made any significant strides. I have a few friends who are in their early twenties. I wonder where they will be 10 years from now? They seem driven and ready to take the worlds but then, I am sure many of us were back then. The good thing about being 30 something is that you know yourself better and are more equipped at dealing what is thrown at you. You might still be indecisive but you know more about how the world works- the stuff they never teach you in academic study. Young enough to start over, and old enough to know more about the way things work. Time becomes increasingly more precious.

I do believe in perseverance in achieving goals. Not that i believe one ultimately achieves what one wants through persevering but without it, one has no chance. Luck and timing makes up the other parts. Maybe destiny too.

There is a man named Zhou You Guang. He invented the system in which Chinese became romanized (Pin Yin) in the mid 20th Century thereby helping turning China from a largely illiterate country into a majority literate one. Here is a short video on him. He is 102 years old.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/feb/20/zhaou.youguang.pinyin

I watched CCTV recently and a man who participated in the ParaOlympics was interviewed. He was a swimmer with no arms. Truly amazing, truly inspiring.

- J