Reminiscing 2010 Part Deux

Subhanallah, I was really lucky at the end of December 2010. No I didn't hit the jackpot project. We were lucky to be alive that is.

The central power switch was burrowed by termites and cause it to burn. Luckily, it caused ONLY the wooden holder to burn and caused a blackout. We thought the whole neighbourhood blackout and "selamba" went out to AEON to wait out.

By the time we got home, the only house still blackout was our house. The switch was set to ON and when I try to dislodge it, dust fell off and I immediately recognized it as termite dust. The termites must have burrowed through the stone wall and got caught in the wires causing them to fry. A portion of the wooden holder got burn and luckily it didn't escalated to cause a major fire.

The blackout occurred around Zuhur and most of us were upstairs taking a nap. Imagine if it broke to a full-scale fire. We could all be burnt alive. Imagine the computer I am using right is lost. There goes my livelihood. Alhamdulillah for making us still walking on this earth.

Now

Lets look back at 2010.

4. On projects. There been numerous projects but I still got goaded to assist on projects and end up not getting paid. It is still a painful affair. Not just to me but also, to the one owing me. As I wrote in my previous post, if someone did wrong to me, the returns is cash nowadays. I got one client, an actress in profession whom bought a solution from me. She paid a downpayment which is just to cover the net cost and then failed to complete the payment. She owed a hefty sum and started to play act on me. And at that time I was recovering from my operations. After two years, my partner who owned the company considered it as a bad debt. Though we didn't made any profit from the sale, we never deliver first and asked for payment later. Guess what, this person office got all her equipment (ours included) robbed and got the nerve to call me for help. Hearing her voice just made me blood go upstairs. ( he he he sapa yg cakap camni?) My heart says served her right. When her payment received she never took an effort to pay. You kenakan orang, it gonna get back at you.

I did a project in 2005 which I put my full heart in accomplishing the project. I drafted the proposal and presented it to the Perak exco. I was not properly paid for my consultation. I was young and want to prove I can do it. Imagine a masscommite suddenly becomes knowledgable in agriculture. Even Mardi doctors thought I was from UPM. The paper was the first corridor ever proposed outside the multimedia supercorridor context. And guess what. It may become the basis for ECER and NCER. Because of impatience on my client side, he went to sell the idea to foreign investors causing the MB thinking what we are doing is a plot to collect funds only. And for that, we lost it. A month or so, the projects would have sailed smoothly. The client got paid even a trip to UK by the current investor while I was totally broke.

Then one fine day in December 2010, the same client came to my house and wanted me to help him on a new project. As a guest to the house, I welcome him as a guest but when he talked of the project, my heart felt uneasy. I later consulted my wife and decided not to pursue it. What made my mind up was he sent me SMS that he wanted to pay Rm200 to start. ARGH! It was clearly an insult to my intelligence. Is my idea is just that much. Might as well put a stop to it. I want to do things that can uplift my current situation, not enriching others and made myself as is or even poorer.

There are other projects but I don't want to depress myself writing this blog. And I notice all the projects involving older people tends to cause misery to me. I guess older people are KIASU. Most of them have the tendency of saving only themselves and left me to fend for myself.

The bright side of things is for the past 8 months, I have been doing a project testing my skills. A lot of architecture modeling, rigging birds (see my previous post), compositing and rotoscoping. Above all, it is an international project. The total amount paid is awesome but when you break it down to the number of months. The numbers is no longer so great. But this project really tested my skills in Cinema 4D and After Effects. I never did Match Moving techniques and now I have. :-). Now if we can conclude the project (it is already at final phase), that would be a swell thing to happen.

So this year, I am charging at profesional rate and I am putting my wife as the CFO. If the projects is not worth the effort, might as well drop it. At least, no stress and endless nights pursuing measly monies.

Someone told me why must I show my grief on the net. No one wants to read people misery and people who dislike you will applaud for all the suffering I suffered. I guess typing these very words makes my mind to rethink what has happened and it sure does lift a burden on my shoulder. It is true life is not easy but I am not a hypocrite. Hiding my true self by showing I am doing alright. This hiding will start to expand and eventually, burst an artery or two.

Anyway, I still pray to Allah that all I am facing is a test. A test of integrity. A show of others true colours. I hope my luck will prevail as Allah still grant my family and me time to walk the earth. (Read first para).

Happy New Year to the blog readers reading this. May we be happy mentally and financially in 2011.