Escapism

28th December 2009 marked the date that I began my journey as a script supervisor. I am not exactly a virgin in a production team as I have been a crew with many of Teater Kami's theatre productions. I wondered how long I would survive in the world of erratic schedules.

You must be wondering what is the function of a script supervisor. Well, a script supervisor is supposed to look out for the continuity in camera shots. A TV viewer who watches a one-hour programme might have no idea how many days of effort/work by various people are put in to create that piece. An editor who have probably memorized the entire show by the time you watch it as he has been editing for probably at least 48 hours in total. Anyway, I digressed. What does continuity means? E.g. Actor A was holding a cup with his right hand in the master shot while he was saying XXXX. A script supervisor must note his different actions while he is presenting his lines so that when there is a close-up shot of the same scene, Actor A must be holding the cup with his right hand. Some actors forget and instead of holding the cup with his right hand, he might hold using his left hand instead.

Upon getting the script, the duty of a script supervisor is to do a script breakdown. He/she is to note the props required for each scene, the special effects for make-up, the wardrobe needed, the actors and extras involved per scene and many other details. Once the breakdown is done, he/she is to communicate to the relevant departments before the shoot date.

Anyway, I witnessed many 'events' only on my first week of work. I think I shall not mention them here. *winks* So, somehow, my role changed and I had greater responsibilities. Due to my background as an assistant marketing manager and a PR officer, backed with my Diploma in Business Administration, together with my experience as a crew and packed with other life skills, I am suddenly a line producer and trying my best to be good at it. 

Now, you might be questioning, "So, what are your duties now?" I still execute my duties as a script supervisor and on top of that, I chase the scriptwriters for their scripts, go for meetings with my boss and note down the minutes, do subtitling for every episode, plan for the shoot by drawing a production schedule and call sheet, coordinating talents' availablity and contacting each and every one of them before shoot and many more. Ability to react fast to an unwanted situation is key and so is good communication skills or I will never be able to get any work done. Being able to withstand high levels of political situations, obnoxious people and to react accordingly is a plus point.

I never imagined to be doing whatever I am doing. I took up the offer since it was the school holidays and I had no bookings for school shows. I needed to stay occupied and keep myself busy so as to distract myself from being depressed. Why I was depressed, I shall not say here. So, there you have it. My life in production. I shall update you at the end of the production on how I fared and if I would continue being a producer.

Another of the Educated Idiots is getting married. So far, we are getting married in order of expectations. More or less. Hee hee... Siti Fatimah, followed by Nurhayani and now Siti Mahfuzah. We are predicting Nurul Jannah to be next. Izati and I will be in the bottom two. We might be competing with Shazilla to get the last spot.

I feel weird that we are all grown-up now. Siti was feeding her adorable baby boy, Rayyan and then Shazilla came along, dressed in corporate wear. She is an intern at Triumph while doing her Bachelors at SIM. She dangled free panties and told us that we can get one for free if we complete a survey questionnaire. It worked! All of us wanted the free Triumph panties so we dilligently filled up the survey form. Fuzah was so excited about her wedding though she insisted she wasn't. She claimed that she was just anxious and we tried assuring her that everything would proceed smoothly.

It was a pity that Izati and Yani couldn't make it to the short gathering. Izati is in London while Yani couldn't come in time as she needed to fetch her kids after work before meeting us. I can't wait for the wedding. Plus, Fuzah is getting married to a relative of mine so I will be going to two weddings. One at her side and another at my relative's. Congratulations Fuzah & Fazil... May you be blessed by Allah and have lovely offsprings :)

A very late update: I am LOST no more. Hahahahaha.. I bought my 3GS iPhone immediately after my return from KL and I am loving it so much. I promise to guard this phone with my life. I returned home from KL on 12th December 2009. It was late so I couldn't proceed to any Singtel store. The next day, I headed to Tampines Mall Singtel store before I proceeded to Goldkist Chalet at East Coast where we were to have our Wira Bukit gathering.

Upon reaching the chalet after my anticipated purchase, I was whining about how I wish I could rush home to my laptop and restore the contents of my previous iPhone to the current one via iTunes. Helzie was so sweet and offered to send me home on his bike and then back to the chalet. We braved the heavy rain in the pursuit for my happiness. I spent 2 hours at the lobby, away from the chalet, to 'work' on my phone. I was just expecting to restore my MP3, MP4 and contacts. I thought that my SMSes and photos taken from the camera phone would be gone. Imagine my joy when ALL my contents from the previous phone were COMPLETELY restored. EVERYTHING! I couldn't stop smiling and jumping. That really made my day.

It is worth paying more to get smarter phones and backing up your data consistently. When bad luck strikes, you won't be beaten too badly. I was gleeful from then onwards, until today. Amazing the power of an iPhone. Hee hee... There's not much difference between a 3GS iPhone and a 3G iPhone. The camera resolution is better and you can capture videos. There is more storage space. That's all. I find it really cool that I can upload photos and videos instantaneously to Facebook. I guess once you have a taste of the iPhone, you can't go on surviving without one anymore. Sounds ridiculous, I know! But it is TRUE! At least, for me. And a few other iPhone users that I know. *winks*

This is not Lost as in that TV drama series. This is Lost as in I FEEL SO LOST WITHOUT MY iPHONE! *wails out loudly*

I went to Sentosa on Halloween Night with a group of girlfriends. We were there to support our dear friend, Suhaila who was working at Images of Singapore - Spooktacular. They had a Halloween Special and we dressed up in the spirit of fun. We had to queue up for around 2 hours due to overwhelming response to the event. Kudos to the marketing team!

However, it was all worth it. Firstly, it was because we were kindly told to chill out at the holding area which has a lovely view of the casino under construction and we had a choice of free pepsi or sprite. We were entertained by music and good company. Secondly, there were the walking characters that 'entertained' us by shocking unsuspecting queue-rs. Kak Nani and Kak Dalifah were hiding behind me and Eeqah most of the time when we were waiting in line. There were many interesting halloween costumes worn by fellow Spooktacular-goers. There was one guy who became a bapok hantu. He had a moustache, wore a wig that he tied into two pigtails and wore a green polka-dot dress. And there was a pregnant ghost who stuffed a bunny in her tummy to make herself look pregnant. Thirdly, the Spooktacular event was really great! Kak Nani cried as she was super-spooked out! There could have been a better flow in system but the good customer management made up for everything.

We then headed for a session of more fun. I ended the night/morning at around 3 plus am and headed to a friend's place on a cab. I remembered placing my beloved iphone in my dress pockets or in my bag but according to my friend, I placed it in my bag. Upon reaching my friend's place, my iphone was no longer there. My bag was emptied and we went down to retrace my steps but there was no iphone around. I called the cab company the next day as my friend was smart enought to take a taxi receipt (a practice I shall adopt from now on) but the taxi driver claimed that there was nothing. I have a security code on my phone and its battery was dying so I have no idea if anybody found it or it is lying in some dumps.

My boyfriend said that if a Bangla or Nyonya were to find my phone and its battery had died, they probably would just throw it away. How comforting!

And that's the story of my LOST iPhone. I'm using a basic Nokia phone in the meantime. After checking with SIngtel, I discovered that it has been 12 months since I bought my iPhone so I can recontract after 9 November 2009. I can also request for a voucher after 9 November 2009. I am trying my best to be patient. Pray for good news, will you? I will update again on the outcome soon.

Love,

The Lost iPhone Owner

After graduation from Singapore Polytechnic with a diploma in Business Administration, I worked as a hotel receptionist at Royal Plaza on Scotts Hotel. Not one to be able to stand much protocols and people checking on you constantly, I left upon getting an offer to work as a reservations officer at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Things started out on the right foot. I enjoyed the company and the work. Nobody breathed down my neck after I am done with my training. I came to work, knew my tasks for the day and immediately worked on them. Then, my assistant manager and supervisor left. We were already  having shortage of manpower and it got worse. HR took their time to replace the staff strength and I had to work double or triple hard. I hanged on, hoping that the situation will get better. Then, there came 2 new staff. I was ecstatic. I enthusiastically trained them and was happy with the company. Things were finally getting better!The new staff then left after some time. As I kept on hoping, deep down inside, I knew that things were not improving. So I finally left.

I had a taste of theatre when I was in polytechnic through my CCA. And I had another bite when I was invited to do a cameo role for a play put up by a professional theate group. My curiousity was further aroused. However, if I were to continue working from early morning to late night, I would not have the chance to learn more about theatre or anything else for that matter.

After that, I worked in a recruitment company and got bullied by a lady boss. She went through my emails and checked on me (and other staff) as if she had nothing better to do. I was still young and had the luxury of choice. I resigned. As I was working office hours then, my after-work hours were spent exploring the world of theatre. I went for rehearsals after work almost every day. It was tiring but fun. I grew to love acting even more.

I freelanced, doing direct marketing for a while and then my ex-boss' business partner called to invite me back to work. He had acquired the lady boss' share of the company and asked if I wanted to do marketing for him. After negotiations, I agreed.

I used to dream of climbing the corporate ladder. To be successful. Success was measured in the form of job title, social status, lifestyle and material wealth. I had my opportunity when my boss put me in-charge of a marketing project. That project was my baby. I was a 21-year old, in-charge of my own project and office at High Street Centre. Due to the responsibility, I spent late hours on that 17th floor. Sitting in the boardroom meeting with the directors of the subsidiary companies was ego-boosting as I was the youngest but the thrill lessened as time passed by.

I spent longer hours each day until I had no more time to be involved in any theatre activity. My waking moments were dedicated to work. I hate the rush-hour during going to work and back home. Watching the movie Click by Adam Sandler was inspirational and life-changing.

A thought suddenly hit me one day. I have always been thinking of what ifs. I don't want to grow old, living with the what ifs in my life without doing anything about them. As I toyed around with the idea of being a full-time freelancer, I slowly mustered the courage to actually doing it. I believe in the theory of Maslow's Hiearchy of Needs and I don't want to belong to the bottom category of only fulfilling physiological needs. I want to reach self-actualization. If I fail, I will join the herd that works to pay their bills and be unhappy about their jobs.

It has been 2 and a half years since I became a full-time freelancer and I'm still loving my job. My job is not defined nor structured. I have much freedom. I still pay my bills. I feel contented and blissful.

Dear Family & friends who don't understand what I am doing,
Please be patient. You have to work hard at your regular jobs before you get promoted. It works the same way. Don't be jealous when I wake up late and sometimes have more days off. It doesn't mean that I'm not working. I do have a proper job so stop asking when I will get a proper job. It irks me.

Love,
The Freelancer

Sewa: Jalan Raya       

Projek Cerpen: Sehati Sejiwa