The town of life

From a distance the dusty road sign seems like any other, white paint crackling on an aged pine board. It is only when you come closer that you see that this is a sign like no other - it is a sign in a town called life.

And every now and then in our journey we call life, we encounter these dusty old signs and we are made to choose.

The old man who had lived much of life wheezed his old-man wheeze, and paused to ponder the consequences of his choice.

"But if I go one way I cannot go the other way," the old man pondered, brows furrowed like deep tracks in the earth.

And as the old man thought out loud, a young boy came to his side. The youth took a quick glance and beaming with joy turned eastwards and began to run.

"You know not what lies ahead, dear boy!" the old man shouted in warning, steadfastly holding his ground.

"Oh yes, oh yes, I do. I choose life, the town of life," he replied, to the old man who had not moved an inch.

And the old man sat and pondered.

###

With the FYP more or less done, many of us fourth years have already begun the search for gainful employment. Some of the successful applicants so far have snagged jobs as government people (MFA, EDB), copywriters, pr professionals, journalists, academics, SIA stewards, unknown overseas jobs, etc. And the list grows every day.

It's all a bit bewildering and definitely surreal. This is what four years of work has yielded. Do I feel like I could've done better? Perhaps. I'll always wonder what would've happened if I didn't get those straight C's in year one. Aiyah, don't worry about it lah, it's almost over.

Ending depressing thought: I'm 25, what do I have to show for it?

1st of July 2008

Alright, you heard it here first: I'll be starting work at Burson in July this year.

Writing has been fun, and it's always going to be something I will look back at with fondness. I've spent close to a month with the business times and it's been pretty interesting so far. It's everything I've expected reporting to be like; the bylines, the interviews, the conferences, the hotel dinners - and I've still got a month and a half to go.

Yet there was always something missing. Last week, while reflecting on this, I realised what it was.

I miss having a team. I miss working together in launching an event; showing up at work/meetings knowing your teammates, like yourself, are running on adrenaline and 4 hours of sleep; solving problems as a group, where your weaknesses are countered by your teammates, even as you compensate for their shortcomings.

Yes, there may be occasions where your team stinks, and you wish you'd done everything yourself. But I'll take that chance.

Chasing bylines

Danny Tan

It's been two weeks - well, technically, just one that included real writing - with the B*usiness Times, and the hunt for the elusive byline seems to mirror the search for Mas.

Even so, it's been a real learning experience already, having written four non-accredited stories. What's also been interesting is seeing how journalists work. Some things I've picked up:

1. Don't bother calling before 1pm, at least for B*T - nobody's there...

2. Journalists hate PR people asking what their angle is, and if the story is going to run, and if they are going to attend the event. Because seriously, just check the schedule.

3. Press kits and other paraphernalia are almost always thrown out after stories are written.

4. 90% of news conferences and the like are opportunities for journalists to ask newsmakers about things other than the media event.

5. There's a foosball table at B*T!! Rocks!! Unfortunately, it's right next to the chief ed's office...

One of the big challenges writing for them has been learning to put a business spin on stories. Sometimes, I wonder if I'd do much better at S*T instead. Also, there are a whole buncha smart kids here too.

In any case, it's still only been the first week proper in terms of writing and assignments. We'll have to see how it goes in the next two months.