Go to the profile of • W • X • Y •
• W • X • Y •
words. just a lot of words, really.

23 April 2016

So I’m about three weeks into this internship, and I’m still easing into it.

It has been pretty busy. Not to the extent of hectic, but busy in the way that whenever I finish with one task, I know I have another coming right up. And that’s OK. After all, I’m there to learn.

Unfortunately, there’s been a lot more admin work (which bores me) than editorial (which is what I want to do): I spent a couple of days compiling the contact information of all the schools I’m Singapore; another few days I spent hauling books from the store room and packing them into boxes (more arduous work than I’d expected, to be honest); I even spent a whole day with a pen, cancelling out misprints in all the company catalogues.

This one time, I had to work on a draft for a series the company was starting. It’s like The Idiot’s Guide To Singaporeans. So I start work, regularly saving and all that. Towards the end of the day, I’m saving the document for the last time, right, and it just. Dies. When I finally managed to re-open the document again, most of the words were gone, and what was left had been scrambled and mixed with weird-ass symbols and blank squares.

It looked exactly as if an alien had, after trying, and failing, to pick up rudimentary English, got pissed off, and decided to shit on it.

The marketing people AKA the tech guys eventually told me the document was corrupted, and that I’d have to start all over again. FROM SCRATCH.

So you get the drift. There’s a lot of grunt work. I’d love to say it’s been repaid in equal amount of things I get to learn, but not really.

So far, I’ve done editorial work on only three books. There was an out-of-print cookbook, a raw manuscript of a memoir-cookbook, and a brilliant graphic-novel-satire piece. Naturally, I enjoyed the last one the most, but the first two were, simply put, awful. Boring content mixed with bad writing turns an editor’s brain into mush, trust me.

I honestly don’t mean to complain — it’s just that I haven’t actually learned anything new. Whatever I do on editorial, I picked up myself after twelve years of education and being emotionally invested in English. I’m not even sure what I expected to learn, but I didn’t think it would be nothing at all.

*morose sigh here*

The last couple of days, I’ve been compiling data on books published by other local publishing companies; the metadata is going towards setting up an online bookstore. Think Book Depository, but made solely of local books. And in that process, I’ve come across dozens of books published by this other, definitely smaller, publishing company, that I’d rather read/edit/work on than the books published by the company I work for.

That was really depressing. Don’t get me wrong — I’m insanely grateful for this internship, this huge opportunity I’ve been granted. I was seriously excited for it. It’s just a little sad that I haven’t able to learn as much as I’d like to, to the extent that I’m wondering if I applied to the wrong company for an internship.

I’m only hoping for the next few weeks to improve.

That was the depressing part of the post done, I suppose. More excitingly, the cast (just Team Cap actually) of Captain America: Civil War was here in SINGAPORE.

IN THE SAME COUNTRY I LIVE IN (ASDFGHJKL).

If you know me at all, you’ll know that I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s right up there with my books, with how much I love it. There have been amazing movies, made brilliant and smart and genuinely, adventurously good, by smart directors and wonderful actors. Is it really surprising how much I love the MCU?

Now, I just wanted to clarify: as much as I’m fond of Steve Rogers and I do love Bucky Barnes, I’m still firmly on Team Iron Man. I love everyone on Team Cap, seriously. But Tony Stark was my first Avenger, you know? I was fond of him long before we even knew we were going to get a Captain America movie. And I do agree with his stance (mostly) in Civil War. So there’s that.

(If you think I’m overreacting, you’re perfectly welcome to take your self-righteous ass elsewhere.)

Needlessly to say, however, Team Cap or not, I’m wholly and entirely Team MCU, which obviously meant I had to take the day off on Thursday, so I could go down to MBS and camp for basically four hours. Just to catch three cast members and the director of what I’m anticipating to be the best MCU film yet.

And you know what? It was totally WORTH IT.

So here are some highlights:

  • A Tony Stark cosplayer wins the Cosplay Competition at a TEAM CAP EVENT (hilarious, by the way)
  • Fans chanting Sebastian Stan’s name when he came out (I feel you, dudes)
  • Anthony Mackie and Joe Russo escaping their bodyguards to run up an escalator to see fans on the second floor, AT THE RISK OF GETTING MOBBED (I don’t think I’ve ever loved Anthony Mackie more than in that moment)
  • Chris Evans saying he loves Singapore, and doing it so sincerely
  • Sebastian lifting that shocked kid and hugging him (Google the pictures — you’ll see what I mean)
  • A Spiderman cosplayer wandering around and helpfully posing dramatically in front of branded stores for photo ops

Suffice to say, it was a beautiful night. Even after my legs died because I had stood in the same spot for 4 hours. Even after I had to squeeze with a pair of idiotic girls who blatantly tried to cut the queue. Even after a child thought to sit on my feet, and her stupid parents LET HER.

It was a beautiful, glorious night, because I was in the same building as SEBASTIAN STAN.

Thanks to my friend, K (since I’m not naming names, an initial will have to do), for accompanying me, because I probably wouldn’t have gone myself (and would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life??). Kudos to my brother for using his considerable bulk to get close enough that he almost touched Anthony Mackie’s HEAD. I am both proud and jealous. Thank you, Marvel, for putting Singapore on the map of your promotional tour (even if it was the wrong team).

Also, fuck you, Uniqlo, for only getting Marvel shirts for men. Please get your asses out of the Stone Age and into the 21st century.

Oh, on a final note, NTU (finally!!) called me to set up an interview/entrance test.

I WAS SO RELIEVED.

Now, I’m nervous and worried, because not only is my future at stake here, I’ve got $615.25 on the line. I want my money back from the money-sucking institution that is Cambridge.

Still, I’m very excited to have at least heard from NTU. (!!!?!!!!!!!!!)