The Lost Thing

Part of the reason I have been so lax in updating this little platform has been because I have been trying to juggle a few balls in the air.

Freelance writing for a lot of blogs about pop culture and motion graphics and art, the full time job and then blowing off some general steam.

Also, the all-consuming task of working out my next move in the face of a rental contract that's about to end, and the fact that I am turning 30 soon, which means opportunities for working holiday visa opportunities will end very shortly in many many countries.

Do I stay here, do I move on, do I reinvent myself into a total creative and ditch the project management/strategy side to me, what-o-what do I do?!

In terms of moving on, I have often thought about whether I would fare better in London or even risk it all again and move to Berlin.

I decided to try and make an online portfolio of work I have been up to, to try and get myself another job, hoping it may help me present myself better online and be a one-click representation of myself as a writer.

This was instigated recently after Tommy Hilfiger emailed me - the company, not the man himself - after I applied for a creative copywriter job at their European Headquarters. They asked to see my portfolio and I had to send them about 10 links to 10 different articles I had written. I thought an online portal of one singular link might help me convey myself a little bit more professionally.

What was supposed to be a creative portfolio of my writing and copywriting to break into the creative side of an ad agency turned into me into thinking how I didn't really want to fit into one box and wanting to add some considerable projects I had invested a lot of time and energy into as a an advertising strategist. And then what about my cultural journalism stuff?

I don't mind fitting into a few boxes, but I know that companies think you look flakey as an all-rounder. Arent we all supposed to be specialists and not generalists?

Question: "Which side of the fence do you sit on? Creative or strategy? Editorial or conceptual? Video or print?"

Answer: " All of them."

To be quite honest, in this economic climate, I don't think companies can really afford to hire anyone who is good at one singuar thing or specialise in a niche but hey, who am I to comment?

This morning I woke up and someone I had requested an interview with had made a last minute decision to agree to meet me online.

In requesting an interview, I should say, I wanted to do a piece on him for my freelance job, not requesting him to meet me to give me a job.

It was 8.30am when I woke up. He wanted to skype at 8 am (my time).

Not thinking that he would agree to the interview, I hadn't prepared myself the night before.

I mean, I had notes, and a vague recollection of what he did, but I needed some time to brush myself up on his work and research him a little more.

In actuality, I think he's brilliant (and so does the rest of the world) and was certain he was a very down-to-earth and lovely guy.

How would I know? Well, he's Australian for a start, and the way he writes on his website, he seems to be...well... nice.

I logged onto skype and sent him a few messages, but he didn't appear.

"Damn. I should have woken up earlier and checked my email and logged on in time. I am such a noob. A failure at this whole thing. How could you let someone like him wait for someone like you? "

I spoke to my cousin in the meantime, had a bit of a pep talk with her and then he appeared online apologising for not being on time.

I interviewed him and he was lovely. Inspirational.

Who was he?

Shaun Tan, the illustrator and writer of a multitide of picture books (for adults) and graphic novels. Also a painter, set designer and director with a degree in fine arts and english literature.

One of his graphic novels was recently completed into a movie which took ten years to make and runs for 15 minutes.

Shaun told me the main animator was from Adelaide.

He also told me over our one hour interview that he just needed to be flexible and adaptable in his career and just learn on the fly for all the projects that life threw his way. He said he felt like he was getting a little PhD in learning to do what he does as he plays so many different roles.

This year, Shaun and an Australian production team won the 2011 Academy award for Best Animated Short film and accepted the Oscar from Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.

Watch the video here.

At the end of his acceptance speech, his counterpart Andrew Ruhemann says "This award is for Lost Things everywhere."

Apparently, there's nothing wrong with dabbling. In fact, being good at a few things might ultimately be more than ok.