Less Communication, Just Do It!

After more than 3 years in the marketing and communications field, I am sick and tired of it. I joined the field to pursue an interest, a passion, a purpose to make a difference. But my experiences at PA and then now at NHG have really woken me up. There is no passion to be pursued and there is definitely no purpose (if there was, then I have lost it).

What there is, is just work. The only communication you get ironically in this field are instructions and more instructions. Communications is defined as an exchange of information, so that in whatever we do, we connect with the right audience, through the right channels. The sad thing is, not only is there a lack of communication in this field, even instructions are not given clearly by communication specialists! It seems like most people are in this line because, they just need a salary. This has led to all the do-ers who did their best heading marketing and communications teams. To them, getting it done is first and foremost, communications come second, if at all.

Perhaps I am too idealistic in my thinking, but I am disappointed. I can barely tell the difference between my job in communications and that of a cleaner. Both needs things to be done in a certain time. Both requires hands to get dirty and to clear up other people's dirty dishes (albeit in different ways). I really do not see my life continuing like this.

All this while, I have changed jobs, for the sake of getting out of one just to get into another. I think it is time for a proper break, take a step back, clear out my system and mindset, and evaluate what I really want. Then begin afresh, refreshed with a passion and with a purpose to make a difference.

2010...19 days on

I have...

...started typing using proper casing in my blog posts and tweets (omg, when did that happen!).

...completed 2 football matches in the last 2 weeks. Really nice to finally get back on the field again after more than a year...slowly working myself back into fitness. Also heard from Minjie that we may take part in the Church League again!

...sung with the Trinity choir for their Christmas and Watchnight services. Even though I missed out on the New Year's Eve fireworks, the choir created our own "fireworks" during the Watchnight service and it was really such a blessed experience to have served with them.

...thought about changing my blog skin. Any volunteers? :P

There are other stuff on my mind and that have happened over the last 19 days of course. But I guess, as insignificant as they seem, these things just happen to be at the top of my mind (not in terms of priorities).

refreshed!

it's been two and a half weeks at national health group (nhg) and i'm quite enjoying my time. it's been a long time since i've said that, also noticed by wong, whom i've known since my poly days. besides my close group, wong is the probably the other person whom i was really close with during my poly days. all the hours spent in his cd shop - when i've skipped class (which is nearly all the time) - just talking about music, girls and about life in general. after my ill-fated stint with the people's association (pa), i'm determined that i will never again step into the civil service again. for those six months, i felt stupid, useless and strangled. but all that's in the past now and all i can say is that some people are cut out for the government sector and others (like me) are just not.

now at nhg, i'm regularly leaving office at least one hour after official hours but not once has it felt enforced upon me. in fact, it's been such a smooth transition, it feels like i've been here much longer than the two and a half weeks. in fact i've not felt so refreshed and challenged since the first time i was at manpower.

on a separate note, i will be part of the choir singing at my church's christmas services! i seriously don't know what got into me to make me sign up (dragging jana along). in fact, the last time i've taken to the stage was during the manpower's dinner and dance when i had jack, alvin, eric, sheena and alex along. even then, it was to an audience which was familiar to me and one that was less than a hundred. come christmas, i will be singing alongside unfamiliar faces, facing a packed auditorium made up of thousands of strangers. a nerve wrecking thought but...i'm really looking forward to it (especially when jana is also in the choir...i mean how cool is that!). :) can't wait for the first rehearsal this sunday!

hyper boleh!

felix's sessions on writing have been a real eye-opener. not just because he is a journalist or a writer or a lecturer or a critic, but because he is all that. while i thought that it was a most useful session, my fellow attendees spoke about getting felix to "adapt" to the civil service style of writing or how they were trying to stay awake. i will save my comments about their typical civil servant attitudes for another time.

much as i have enjoyed the sessions, i do not agree with everything no matter how correct they are (yes, i disagree with the "correctness" of some of them). probably my biggest disagreement was the use of "hyperboles" in writing. (a hyperbole is an exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement).

according to him, hyperboles serve no purpose other than take up more space. here are some of his examples:

"freak accident" - every accident is freakish in nature. which accident was planned?
"innocent bystander" - "innocent" is redundant because a bystander is always innocent.
"latest update" - updates are meant to be the latest news.
"significant milestone" - milestones are all significant.

while i agree that hyperboles are redundant in writing, my bone of contention is from the readers' point of view. with so much information available to us these days, how do you capture a reader with just "accident" or "milestone" or "update" - there are accidents everywhere and everyday, and there are updates ALL the time.

despite his insistence that it is poor writing, i stand firm on this (sorry felix). as a reader i do not want to read about ALL accidents and ALL updates. boring boring boring. what will catch my attention is if (in felix's own words) the "accident was freakishly out of this world"! poor writing, sure. but strong appeal.

i am not saying that hyperboles be used all the time and everything needs to be exaggerated to capture readers - over-exaggeration too is a sin. but no matter how redundant hyperboles are to a "proper sentence", the fact is, it is a "redundancy" which can (if used appropriately) capture readers' attention and imagination.

so now, would you rather watch "a comedy which is so damn hilariously funny, it will numb your funny bones" or "a comedy"? you decide.

why civil servants are happier than private sector workers

amazed by the results of a survey conducted by jobscentral - which reported that "civil servants (were) happier compared to those in private sector" - i thought i'd come up with 10 reasons how that could be possible.

1. a civil servant's work does not require that much thinking (if applicable at all).

2. the world's biggest companies are either in trouble, folding or folded. but organisations in "good company" won't.

3. they were provided a step-by-step guide for the survey so that they will not "go wrong".

4. they were given only two choices - it was either happy or ecstatic.

5. it is the recession now leh. a safe place is a happy place.

6. as with all civil service procedures, the subordinates "drafted" the survey answers (pending their superior's approval).

7. a civil servant's job is very specialised - they just need to do their parts. the rest pass on to the "appropriate party". private sector workers need to bao ka liao (everything also must do!) or they will liao liao (say bye bye!).

8. there was a happiness audit.

9. the surveyees were arrowed. but promised full anonymity.

10. isn't jobscentral a job board (where people look for jobs)? you mean they have that many civil servants in its database!