Happy New Year!

I`m typing this ｉｎ　Ｓａｐｐｏｒｏ，　Hokkaido, all thanks to the goodwill of my fellow colleagues in Little Red Ants who were so nice to basically allow me to take the entire December off.　That`s why even though I have a cold, and the keyboard is definitely not in any of mine native languages, I feel more than happy to type this post out.

To be honest, before starting LRA, I`ve spent entire days wondering if the notion of starting a business in such a competitive industry was even viable at all.　We spent at least 2 days and nights working on a brilliant (at least it was, to us) business plan, only to have it shot down by an appraisal board, claiming that our idea would not last for long because we were merely content generators, not innovators.　I was very pissed off and according to Yan Zhao, my entire face was black and I was on the verge of raising my voice at them. We went out of that meeting room, even more determined to prove them wrong.　And I`m glad to say we`re probably on the right track.

At the very beginning, we were a very DIY operation.　And I`m proud to say we still are.　From improvising ways to steady a Canon 5D while moving around (hint: use a tripod on your waist), from trying to recreate a atas room in the middle of East Coast Park, from utilising every tool at our disposal to fix our endless supply of broken filters and step up rings, we`ve become masters at fixing things and retrieving stuff.　Like Darren puts it, `Black tape can fix anything.`

But the one thing that black tape can`t fix is AN unhappy client.　Thankfully, that`s been rather rare this year,.Instead, we`ve met many people who`s helped us along in our journey.　Thank you to all of you for　believing in LRA, especially Kay Chin, without whom LRA would be just a pipe dream, Diana, Yee Hon, Melvin, Lina, and Dennis Chew.　Special thanks to the two crazy girls, Diya and Carrie for letting us play around with their MTVs.　We really enjoyed working with all of you and hopefully the future will bring us more projects to collaborate on.

I must add to Darren`s part about our cursed retreats.　Even though Yan Zhao and me travelled all the way back, we did not get that project, Nice.

Darren, Yan Zhao, Kang Li and Adeline are the people I`ve spent the most time with this year.　Even　more than my parents, grandparents and all other loved ones. Maybe even combined, they can`t beat the time I spend with the four of them.　Sometimes, I wonder how we can stand seeing each other day in, day out for 5 days or more a week.　LRA was started primarily as a way to pay for what we love and would want to do on a daily basis, and I guess this might be what sustains all of us, even though I sometimes begrudge Yan Zhao the 14 minutes of wasted time he takes away from my life daily. We might bicker a lot (no, really, it`s more than you think) but in the end, even though black faces are given, or harsh words used, we make it a point to set aside our differences and work towards a common goal.　And I think it is incredibly rare that 5 very different personalities can come together like that. Thank you for such a great 2010.

Aside from work, it`s very important to me to thank my parents, especially my dad for his support, especially as it takes time away from me learning how to be a plumber.　Even though more wrinkles are appearing on his face, and his once black hair is greying at the edges, he always tells that there`s no problem with me doing my job and to leave the rest to him.　Mom as usual,　concurs with his words.　Thank you, D, I`ll do my best for you in 2011.

I`ve always wanted to do a story on my Grandma and Grandpa, for no one`s sake but mine and theirs.　But it`s always been shoddy, and now I have images, many images but no story. That has to change.

Although I`ve made many new friends this past year, I have failed in my duty to 2 of them. To Mdm Saadiah and Judson, I`m sorry that your stories have overshot the deadline by many months and I will meet up with you all soon to discuss about the next steps,

So to the steps that needs to be taken, and the road that has yet to be travelled, let`s all enjoy the remainder of 2010 and look forward to a smooth sailing 2011!

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