It was a fine afternoon in January 2010… clear and breezy. I could not take my eyes away from the horizon in the sea of Rajaampat, Papua. Being away from Jakarta always brings me a good mood to give a quality time to myself (an exception to my toilet affair every morning, which is awesome, but doesn’t include a million dollar view like what I had).
One thing I did remember: I forgot more things. It’s funny to see that our hunger of excitements only fuels our source of forgetfulness. I thought I better write down a few things that I considered interesting to remember in 2009, so I can remember to use it when trying to look smart in front of new clients.
So here I am, sitting at a cafe at Plasa Senayan at 3 pm, compiling those thoughts (and wondering why these people around me don’t have to go to work… lucky bastards…).
- I have realized that the toughest battle is within myself, with myself. In most of the cases, I lost.
- I realized that graphic design was a dying business. Most of the work from idiots have successfully satisfy idiot clients. The only problem is, there are more idiots than ever now.
- I wrote more than ever in 2009. They were still terrible writings, but I hope they didn’t fail to make you an inspired reader.
- Being more well-known brings lots of benefits. But I don’t think the downside is any less.
- I am being blessed with my last exhibition and book, In My Room. It proved me that simple ideas work well in this complicated world.
- The book made me talk in-depth with many of the public figures in Indonesia. You know what interests them the most? Themselves.
- Advertising in Indonesia has been walking backwards. Less creative ideas sell more.
- Photography is getting very popular. And so is Photoshop.
- I realized that in LOVE, I knew nothing.
- I lost a lot of things during the year. So much, so many. Maybe I needed to.
- I have hurt many good people around me during the year. Some, deeply. I am truly sorry.
- I thought I would have been tired with Facebook. Nope.
- I was introduced to another amazing world wonder: Twitter. See, simple ideas, again, work.
- Canon made its best move in photography with its 5D mark 2. My best value camera ever.
- Macintosh stayed cool and unbeatable. If PC people think differently, it’s mostly because they haven’t tried both.
- I was surprised to see the development of inkjet printer. Hewlett Packard did a good job.
- Creative industry got dirtier every year. Getting hard to win pitches with honesty? Be a lawyer or start a restaurant.
- I stopped doing pro-bono work. It’s a stupid concept.
- My company became very slim. Love it. Less headache, less fix cost, more profit, more free time, more traveling.
- Getting out of my comfort (creative) zone saved me from being a cocky asshole. I hope.
- I judged a national design competition for the first time. I found it equally as fun as judging photo competitions.
- I started to do sport again. Creative people, trust me, it helps.
- I needed less sleep. Some said it’s a sign of getting old.