# I take questions, or what I call "mini-interviews"

I hope that with the following question-and-answer(s), the reader may gain a better understanding of me. Dare I hope that the following may even be useful to the reader.

### At a glance

1. What has been one project or assignment in which you broke the rules and had fun in the creative process?
2. Tell me what is your oops-boo-hoo moment this week, and what you learnt from it.
3. What other things are you doing to manage your mental health? Share your tips with us!
4. What’s [been] a previous moment of disappointment turned success?
5. What’s the best gift you have ever received from a leader?
6. What new skills have you learnt later in life (and/or not related to your work line)?
7. What advice has stuck with you for a long time?

What has been one project or assignment in which you broke the rules and had fun in the creative process? - Joseph

I once took an undergraduate-course on Composing Music in the Classical Style (for example, in the style of Mozart). For an assignment in that course, I wrote a musical work that appears to be thoroughly twentieth-century, instead of looking eighteenth-century. My course-instructor did not accept my work, but I still had fun. (I’ve realised the importance of surrounding myself with people who value creativity and innovation - which is not everyone, and I certainly don’t really appreciate flattery and/or smooth talk, either).

- Approximately 4th April, 2020

Tell me what is your oops-boo-hoo moment this week, and what you learnt from it. - M.P.

An “oops-boo-hoo” of mine, as you call it? I run a blog where I post photos from my trips to art-galleries in Sg. Art-hunting, if you will. But I got a little lost; something didn’t feel right (about such blogging) anymore. I asked the person known, on LinkedIn, as Alin Sneha Abraham, for her perspective on the matter; I said I wasn’t sure if my blogging was adding value to the world. Alin said something to the effect that it is more important that I enjoy myself; that way, at least one person benefits. So my oops-boo-hoo was to overlook my own enjoyment of the activity in question. I concluded that I liked visiting galleries, but posting photos on social media? Not so much.

- Approximately 4th April, 2020

What other things are you doing to manage your mental health? Share your tips with us! - M.P.

Oh, it's you again, M.P. (Hi again!) I try to have some fun with the ground that is given me. Like, I try to appreciate the ground I have - yes, the ground. Like, it’s so stable. And I can have access to it. Ms. Vaishali, who seems to teach yoga, elaborates the idea, in the following blog-post: https://thestillspace.org/2020/03/22/ode-to-the-ground/

- Approximately 7th April, 2020.

What’s [been] a previous moment of disappointment turned success? - Mark

In my early twenties, I volunteered to facilitate a week-long camping activity, during which I got very little sleep. I would evaluate my own performance, during that camp, as poor - I just wasn’t getting enough sleep.

Fast forward about a decade, now I value my sleeping hours. I avoid taking on overnight jobs, because I know I won’t be at my best. I’ve learnt to manage myself a little, I guess - and that counts as a success to me!

- Approximately 3rd May, 2020

What’s the best gift you have ever received from a leader? - C.C.

Difficult to say which has been the best for me, since there are a few good ones I can identify (which I am thankful for, of course). I would highlight, as my response to your post, opportunities that a teacher gave me, when I was 10 years old (approximately). I had interest in making flashy animation with the software Macromedia Flash (which is now apparently obsolete). I guess that teacher liked what I was doing with Flash, because the next thing I knew, I was given the opportunity to produce animation, for showcase at a major school event (the anniversary of my Primary School, or something like that). I didn’t end up feeling proud of the animation that I would eventually make, but even till today, I am still pleased and flattered that I got “talent-spotted”, in a way.

- Approximately 28th May, 2020

What new skills have you learnt later in life (and/or not related to your work line)? - Andy

Comedy (as well as a sense of humour, if I may say so myself). My research includes watching episodes of Seinfeld, and reading manga. I hope their comedic effects are something I can absorb.

- Approximately 2nd June, 2020

What advice has stuck with you for a long time? - Steven

I get reminders to avoid becoming arrogant, when I read the Bible. One passage reads: "if anyone thinks himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so that he may gain wisdom." So, I'm quite happy to think of myself as a fool, if only so that I can seek wisdom.

- Approximately 3rd April, 2021