The Great Rush

What a week. I was rushing an interactive module for PTA (Philippine Tourism Authority) for the past couple of days and I haven't got a decent sleep (just 30 minute naps). My contact person (and ninong), Ahwel is going to present it at 2PM in the afternoon and I need to drop by the office quickly and add some more images that I forgot to take home. It is 5:30 am in the morning and I'm ready to transfer some files from my MAC to the PC (because my MAC does'nt have a USB port and my CDWriter isn't working) when the unthinkable happens... my zip drive went nuts and acted weird on the decent zip disks I put in it. You know that sound... kaklak-kaklak-kaklak, then you see a message that the files are corrupted or the mac can't read the zip disk. I was in a great panic - the sleepless nights and the effort have been put to waste by a non-cooperating zip drive. Luckily, one of the compressed files I did managed to make it through the zip disk (just one). I copied it to my PC, then copied it into a USB portable minidrive. All my hopes lie on one file - which I hope did not get corrupted or will work in my MAC in the office. I left my apartment in Antipolo around 6:30, hoping to evade the people rushing to the office. And when I got to the FX station - there were no FXs in site, the jeeps were jam packed, and there was a long queue of people. My God, the traffic is even against me! Luckily I just took a jeepney ride (managed to catch a not so packed one) - and dropped by Valley Golf, which unluckily has no FX available too. It took around 25 minutes before I caught an FX and reached the office at 9:10 am. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to churn out the project in a nick of time and into the hands of the PTA people. It really is weird - that whenever you rush things - it seems that all odds are against you.
The image I posted here is a result of last Friday's creative test. The challenge is to make an ad for the Singapore Zoo, it will be judged by this McCann honcho from Singapore. I really thought the ad was witty. He did'nt get it at first, but got the whole idea after I explained it. His input is: I should craft a better copy or sub-copy to explain the image. I just have to face it - I'm not a good copywiter :)

View from 34

Ayala avenue in Makati was closed the whole day today. I go to work daily via the Tamaraw FXs that are stationed a few blocks from my apartment at Antipolo. The fare costs P45. Everyday I look at the people I travel with in this short ride (looking for a nice looking chic). Sometimes I sleep, very often I listen to their wonderful stories. I wish our politicians would commute with them even for a day, listen to their woes, and see our country in the eyes of the ordinary people. Our country is in crisis because of POLITICS. I wish that a vigilante would wipe them all off and their political families. And to make things worse, the PEOPLE go on rallies where they really don't know what they're fighting for. These rallies are the reason why Ayala is closed today and I have to walk the distance just to get to work. On the way to work, I passed by these rallyists, and there are merchandise for sale (mostly GMA resign t-shirt and stuff). It was like a little flea market - with people selling food, drinks and whatever items of worth. Funny... even in times of crisis, Filipino ingenuity still shines through. And now here I am in the 34th floor of LKG tower... at this distance, I don't see their faces, even if they shout or do something ridiculous. Perhaps this is how God views the world. We are all little fleas, we say our prayers, and there is a slim chance of it getting through. But sometimes, God comes down from the 34th floor and mingles with the crowd. Looking for someone worthy of his notice.

No hope for this

I love drawing. Whenever I do a compre (how a print ad would look), I would rather draw it than rely on the web for pictures. But sometimes after I draw it, and we have to do a photo shoot - there's a 75% chance that the talents we're using for the ad can't pull the look and expression I want (our photographer Jeanne keeps mentioning that only my face is flexible enough to capture the right expression). This ad here is supposed to be a part of a bigger campaign. I would like to do a print ad utilizing a photo collage illustrated style and look... but alas... our ECD (Executive Creative Director) did'nt like it. Way too off for the look she was looking for. So I guess this would never see the light of newspapers or magazines, only in my BLOG.

Calm after the storm

Yesterday was very chaotic. Although we don't have office hours on Saturday and Sunday, I had to drop by for a freakin' print ad's publication deadline. I dropped by Greenhills earlier yesterday to buy a set of Trigun Maximum Story Image Figures and a set of Steamboy Gashapons... which was yesterdays highlight. On the picture is Rai-Dei the Blade, my favorite gashapon from the bunch. Which leads us to today... a very relaxing day. I'm not doing much, but I managed to create this BLOG. I wonder if people will be reading this. I live a boring life. I better wear that dino-suit tonight and spice things up.