The Silent Room

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Small Talk:
Sorry for the lack of updates. To make up for it, here’s a wall of tl:dr for you :D

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Maybe it’s time for us to mellow out a little bit this December.

It’s been a rather busy November, and it looks like it’s going to be a busy December, too.

Just last week I came back from Singapore and it was an exhausting trip – before and after. I didn’t get to do much else throughout last week, and over the recent weekend I was helping my brother move to his new house in Bangi.

There were a lot of shitstorms going on with the family against various third parties (goddamn swindling motherfuckers) which I’m too lazy to discuss here. It’s been a rather frustrating experience, to say the least. Then there was me trying to find some pocket money during this study break I’m taking.

More Madness

I got a call from a lady asking me if I was free to do some freelance work and participate in a new business project. I’ve dealt with many design clients who can’t really explain their business over the phone so I was happy to meet with them and let them explain it better with visuals.

Only this time, I got tricked into attending an MLM seminar. I say ‘tricked’ because I was thoroughly insulted and pissed at how they treat me. Imagine hearing “Oh, graphic… design? Well, I’m from a financial background so I don’t know anything about that. But nevermind you could still join us and take part in this business!”.

Any self-respecting designer would be fuming at that remark. Here I was thinking I was called for a need of my skills, and suddenly she comes out saying that my field doesn’t matter one bit and all they need is another person to make money for them? What kind of a sick joke is this?

Sweating It All Off

Luckily for me though, I vented out all that rage at the gym the next day. I’ve been at it for over 3 weeks now, and last I checked I managed to lose somewhere around 5kgs over the first two weeks. Considering I didn’t take any supplements or get on any kind of telemarketed exercise machine, I guess that’s not bad at all.

I didn’t really sign up for a membership at Celebrity Fitness or anything. Just a small privately-owned gym in Bangi, recommended by a buff friend. It’s a charming little place, really. No fancy carpeting, or furnishing. Just fans, lots of huge open windows, and old gym equipments that’s been repaired over and over.

Funny thing about it is that it’s run by a Malay bodybuilder, and its clientele are made up of a bunch of buff Malay dudes. Some of them are flabby like myself, but most of them are lean and mean machines. Some of them are pretty good looking, too. Here the catch: they’re either married with children, or single and completely helpless with girls.

There are a couple of rather distinct characters too. There’s the abang besar type who runs the place, a set of baka-futari (dumbass duo), the silent dude who just smiles at everyone and minds his own business, the married man who complains a lot about his wife, and then there’s the protein and steroid junkies. Toss in a normal guy who is new to the whole gym culture, and you get a setting that’s absolutely perfect for a slice-of-life/comedy manga.

Think Honey and Clover or Genshiken in a gym setting. The only thing missing from this picture is a hot female character to spice things up. Maybe when I can think of a decent story I’ll write one out and find myself a good manga artist and get it visualised, hahaha.

Community Affairs

Then there was the issue of club affairs. I’m starting to feel the fatigue of leadership, seriously. For two years plus I’ve been giving out orders and having people look to me for orders, or blaming me for NOT giving any orders. Yes, I’m complaining, just to make things clear.

I know I took the task out of a sense of… I don’t know, obligation? I’m not so sure anymore. Now it seems as though a lot of people are trying NOT to carry any weight because nobody asked them to. There’s just a sad, sad lack of initiative here and certain individuals care for nothing but their own personal agenda. I mean, do I HAVE to tell everyone “hey, do this or do that.” all the time? Sometimes when I do give orders, it often looks to me like they’d rather be doing something else.

When I give orders sometimes people just take it half heartedly because I don’t discuss things with them. When I call them to meetings, they don’t come. When I ask for opinions or ideas, THEY FUCKING WHISPER TO EACH OTHER. And THEN they complain that I DON’T TALK TO THEM?

It’s been a great learning experience, but I think after two and a half years, it’s starting to get really tiring and frustrating. Still, I have a few milestones I’d like to reach before letting go. We’ve got past the outdoor movie, feast, fansubbing and group vacation marks. Now there’s a workshop, a bona fide games event, a TV series, and full-scale hardcore otaku convention.

Once I get past that, I’ll happily throw in the towel and walk out. I just hope my soul could last long enough for me to get there.