Merry Christmas (December 2005)
Christmas is always a time for me to say hi to old friends. Recently friends whom I have not contacted for a while ask me if I am still working on film censorship. Well, although I really enjoy working there, I have to transferred out of the department.
At Christmas 2004, I was newly posted to the Department of Justice as Assistant Departmental Secretary, feeling quite stressful because of the unimaginable chores of an official Christmas party, an occasion ironically meant to be joyful to all. Perhaps that explains why last year I broke away from my usual practice of updating friends during Christmas. Anyway, I soon tendered my resignation to the Government - not entirely because of the Christmas Party - and started my life as a full-time freelancer. Allow me to say thank you here to all those who have supported me during this period.
So, in February 2005, I started working as a freelance translator, copyeditor, writer, journalist, event coordinator, etc. But before I can comfortably settle in the lifestyle of a full-time freelancer, with a bit of luck, I got a full-time offer from YesAsia.com (HK) Limited as an English Editor. And I am still with this company. Those who have heard about the company know that YesAsia.com is an online retailer of movie DVDs and music CDs, and my job there is basically writing about these titles, plus other things.
Apart from my full-time engagement, I have been working with HKU's Department of Comparative Literature as the Course Coordinator for the "Film Art and Culture" Programme designed for gifted secondary school students, a joint project with the Education and Manpower Bureau of the Government. Originally the appointment should last from February to August, but project closure has been delayed till year-end due to some unfavorable circumstances, and I hope I will have more to share on this project soon.
Since August I have been working freelance for a magazine a.m. post as Feature Writer on film. I have lined-up a.m. post and YesAsia.com for collaboration, and some of my works for a.m. post will appear on YesAsia.com website. (Click here for an example.)
I am also glad to share with you that a little book co-authored by my friends and me, titled Sabayoning the City, has finally come into being in March. Of course I will be more than grateful if you would go and get one! (Well, if you successfully extort a Christmas gift from me, it will probably be this book.) I am also grateful to have participated in another book project titled On the Road. (Click here to glimpse at what I have written.) My thanks go to the editor of this book Joycelyn.
At this point, I must thank you for your patience in reading this lengthy piece of writing. I tried to make it short, but 2005 has been such an eventful year to me and there are too many things that I want to share with my friends. I confess that I am really a clumsy writer, for after so many paragraphs I still haven't come to the crucial sentence: