The Quarter Life Crisis

At the age of 24, it might just be the pre-quarter life syndrome. And I fully qualify because I'm at the junction before my next profession, in the valley of resounding thoughts and reflection.

Another person themed it the mid-life crisis, but wait, isn't that supposed to be at the age of 30? "I don't wanna die ugly and wrinkly" - ermm, okay.

Seriously, what's the blogpost of a 24 year-old supposed to look like? Classy, tasteful and more of a grown man? But the international age of a youth is till 35 isn't it? Then I guess it's still legal by international standards for my thoughts to be immature? :D

But anyway, the purpose of 'penning' these thoughts is to serve as reminder for the person moving ahead to be better behaved. There're tonnes and tonnes of check-lists out there being shared, citing things to do, things not to do and they're well-worth a read, having been churned by those who've been further and done more.

I preach the concept of being a try-sexual (why be a buy-sexual anyway, haha!), but having tried 'that' many things, meaning not many, I've decided that the following are probably not worth trying again or at all:

1. Substance Abuse - Alcohol & Drugs
The sober truths - a little is fine, but honestly, nothing good has ever come of drinking, so don't bother
There's a reason why no one out there advocates substance abuse, it messes with your head, and honestly, there's nothing more beautiful than a clear, untinkered mind

2. Being Untrue
The truth always comes back to haunt you, so always be honest to yourself and those who put faith in you. The satisfaction of going to bed knowing you've not swept any dirt under the rug is certainly assuring.

Having inked the above two on my brain cells, there's so much left to be done, and I'm starting with the below two first:

1. Travel!
Europe will no longer be a pipe-dream. I'm heading westwards to London and Europe to see the world! Hopefully I'll make it back to tell the tale.

2. Start something on my own
I've had enough listening to people talk about how there is so little to lose at this age. So I'll give it a go. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Ending this abrupt as always, for the audiophiles, check out the beats from Clean Bandit! And no, don't be cheated like I was, the singer is not the Asian lady, Clean Bandit is British Electronic Group. Till then!

The "Social Media" Truman Show

Social Media is what it is. In my own words, content that gets shared. Good content sometimes go viral, and bad content, should just never see light.

In the not-so-new age of marketing, where there is much emphasis on "Social Media", most companies sometimes forget that content is king. Good content or a good product, whether digital or not, is easier to market, if not, sometimes do not require any marketing at all. Most of the people in sales would probably agree. Although some might say that a really good sales person will probably be able to sell anything. Then again, possibly yes, but probably with more packaging, fancy commodities and time.

Question to ask: Do we have a good product to sell in the first place? What is it? How are we going to market it online? How do we measure it's effectiveness? Is it really indeed below-the-line? What have we achieved thus far?

While hiring the 'experts' to take this 'untrodden' path seems like a good solution; be it the fact that it is genuinely more cost-savvy or easier to lay the blame if it eventually doesn't work out, it is important to know that numbers and figures should not be the baseline of Social Media.

Likes, Fans, Followers and anything else that substantiates reach or "interaction" with figures is an easy spell for the social media agencies; not saying that most are, but not saying that most don't take the easy way out either. Creating fake accounts and fake interaction is a piece of cake that can be made with a script these days. Identities will need to think deeper.

While shares can be created as well, it's important to create content good enough for oneself and the target audience to share. 

The only time I probably created something that went decently viral was during the haze period to poke-fun of the situation. It was very much targeted at the situation everyone was in, and to really have a good laugh with what seemingly was bizarre yet possible.

The way I see it, the important factors are: 1. 'Recency'/timeliness, how recent is your content to the event 2. Ease of relating to; simplicity, is it easy for the reader to understand and relate? 3. Appropriateness; a right joke at the wrong time is just wrong in anyway 4. Usefulness, will sharing this content benefit anyone? Help anyone? Is it important information? Or will it brighten up someone's day? 

Any and everyone these days is and are a Social Media Expert, we curate content that we feel we can relate to and is appropriate and best able to represent the profile of our identities. Some people go as far as to script the right content or to remove poorly received content.

It is important for big identities to note and act likewise.

Validation is important, but to validate oneself or an identity with figurative factors such as Likes, Followers or Fans is a sad phoney, self and society driven entrapment. Self-validation should take precedence, and is important for identities to find the balance between commercial value and identity integrity. The worst I've seen are individuals and identities that have embarked on a staged validation, whether self-staged or not, both are equally degrading.
Why would one choose to live in "The Truman Show" whether the director is oneself or another?

My side of the story? I've seen the light and felt the flames of social media, it is a double-edged sword, and whether you're representing a corporate identity, celebrity or just simply yourself, I'lll briefly conclude that it requires a good swordsman to wield. 

So if you're new to all of this social buzz, take every posting you make online whether publicly or privately as an official e-mail to the whole wide world. Once you hit send, you hit send.

pause for tomorrow

Ripping the title off one of the better entries for CMPA. A really relevant short-film that describes in 78 seconds, the kind of rush the current society is in. Day to day, hour to hour, minute-to-minute kind of hustle, seeking to earn the kind of money we splurge on things we don't need to impress people we don't have to.

The point of it all? I plant my question mark again.

Chilling at Punggol End with my gaming laptop, mobile hotspot and limited battery, it seems like a good day to really stop, and think about all the has gone by and the decided and yet uncertain future.

I hold firm to the fact that nothing is confirmed until it happens.

I quote one of the instructors I met recently from OCS, he's a Physical Training Instructor now and really enlightened a few of us when he said that "he was at peace with himself" and is pursuing something of interest, something you don't drag yourself out of bed and your shoes to, and that he's done with the paper-chase most Singaporeans and youths of society are stuck in. While I may agree with him, I must say that to each his own.

And like I always do, wherever you go, bring the right spirit and attitude along, love what you do and you'll be doing what you love. Like Paulo Coelho says, that when you've set your mind to it and committed to the success of it "And when you want something, the entire Universe conspires to achieve it". Unless of course you're definite that this one thing is something that you have absolute no interest in, then I would say, stay no further. You're not a tree.

Making my plans for my 24th, which I had initially no plans for since there're already so many big plans this year. Let's just say that it's the year for change, but I'll definitely be sure to live it right.

Made some bad decisions at the beginning of the year, yet, in a different light, it gives one to offer advice from experience, which is priceless and less refutable.

Sometimes we just have to go #yolo, but as I always say, #yolo responsibly

the endless list of things

Sunday is the toughest day of the week, not Monday. I'll have to get all the household chores done, the washing, the cleaning, cut the nails, get the groceries for the week ahead and more, maybe hit the gym also so that I don't feel so bad about all the calories piled on from the cheat meals and drinking over the weekend. No worries, I know I'm not alone.

That's just Sunday. And then there is the year, and to all the people out there who wrote a long list of to-dos this year, all the best! I believe in setting goals and purposes, but am definitely not a fan of empty wish-lists that never come true.

2013's been a good year thus far. A good year is one that is filled with many ups and downs. There are no peaks if there're no troughs, no happiness if hardships and sadness don't exist. And I gotto say, it's been jolly enjoyable thus far. Except for the fact that I wished I made more effort in getting my ass into a University, getting my driving license and many more.

For me, I don't really have major obligations like a child or a pet dog to go home to, I run freely and get to pick the hours and evenings I would like to find myself in the gym or a dance class or so, and when the weekends come it's a FFA (Free For All). I can't imagine how one would manage keeping him or herself in shape when a child comes along, with all the financial and commitments required. I mean, I can barely make time for movies and I don't have a social calendar, like most people do, with planned meet ups and stuffs.

And for now, I hope nothing comes in between my plans to finish reading a few books. There is a need to exercise the mind as well. Sitting here and reflecting helps also, in decreasing the possibility of me returning to the very time-wasting and non-productive DOTA2.

Certainly hope I can get my new mobile phone and laptop as well.

Movie Wise, do catch Disconnect, which stitches a few short stories together, and really reflects the impact social media and technology has on us. Really educations if you'd ask me.

And here's a random Praying Mantis that startled me on a Sunday.

Have a great week ahead!